Jailbreak
by hopelessswriter
Summary: It's been a year since the arrest of the Salamander, and Lucy's world has gone to hell: business meetings and outlays have taken the place of bar fights and her relatively peaceful life. But the appearance of an old ally of her mother puts into motion a plot full of danger and sacrifice. Final story in Kidnapper trilogy. Heavily implied NaLu, some language.
1. Chapter 1

"And what do you recommend, Ms. Heartfilia?"

Lucy eyes snapped up at the question. The Cobeson group's heir and her ex-personal bodyguard, Jacob, stared at her expectantly, before sighing hopelessly. They both knew she hadn't heard him, and that she hadn't heard a single word in the past two hours. But Lucy couldn't make herself focus. She could only finger the small business card in her skirt pocket and count down the minutes until this meeting was over.

 _"Call me when you get the chance, Miss Lucy,"_ the mystery man had said.

The heavy stare of her father burned into the back of her neck as she straightened and cleared her throat politely. "I'm sorry, Jacob, but could you repeat that one more time?" She smirked when he scowled at the use of his first name. As she listened to Jacob explain to her how their parents' companies' competitors were driving down prices on products, and how they could potentially fix the problem, all Lucy could think about was how restrictive the pencil skirt she was wearing was, and how she would much rather be lounging on top of a table that was sticky with beer as she laughed with—

A quiet cough echoed through the room, and Lucy snapped her eyes up to see all eyes on her once again. Jacob blinked and asked, "What do you think would be the most efficient way to beat out our competition?"

Lucy hummed and tried to recall anything he had just told her, but her mind was blank. "Well, Jacob," she said, earning another frown. "I've found that people are always looking for something that benefits them, others be damned." Lucy was glad to see that he swallowed guiltily at her jab. "So wouldn't the wisest move to be to find what our competition is promising, and go from there?"

Silence. All of the other employees were giving each other secret looks, and Lucy coughed under her breath to regain their attention. She gave a sickly sweet smile and gave the slightest glance to her father, who looked red in the face. From shame or anger, Lucy couldn't decide just yet. "I'm sorry if my advice is a little general. It's just that my father still hasn't told me what the family business is yet. I offer my humblest apologies."

To her right, her father snapped his notebook shut and leaned back in his chair. "Meeting adjourned. Thompson, have those reports on my desk by the end of the week. Cobeson, good work today, son." After one more moment of shocked silence, everyone stood and went toward the door. Lucy went to follow them, but she caught her father's eye as she stood and slowly sank back down. _'Here we go again,'_ Lucy thought, preparing herself for the third lecture this week.

As soon as the room cleared out, Jude Heartfilia let out a deep sigh. "It's almost like you don't want this, Lucy."

"I don't."

Jude's jaw jumped. "Oh, so you would rather go play hooker at some bar? Living forty dollars at a time when you could be living on forty-billion?" Lucy didn't say anything, didn't blink or move. _'Nice try, Father, but after all of these years I'm out of tears.'_

"It shouldn't be so hard to just listen and answer a few questions. Instead, you make me look like a fool." Lucy still only stared straight ahead, tapping her fingers on her thighs in an erratic rhythm. "And your little snarky comment about knowing nothing about the business, I'm not going to waste my energy teaching you when you obviously have no real interest." A long silence ensued, and Lucy could feel his temper starting to boil. He growled under his breath at her lack of acknowledgement. "Say something, Lucy."

Lucy gave him a side glance. "I'm leaving." She stood up and strutted toward the door, her skirt covering all of her thighs to where only her knees could move. As she went, her father called out to her.

"This rebellion can only go on for so long, my Lucky Lucy." She slowed at the use of her moniker in the family business, gritting her teeth to avoid responding. It was just what he wanted. "That little punk is gone, and you have nowhere to go. You can't hide from your destiny."

Lucy finally made it out of the door and slammed it, biting her lip so hard she tasted blood. She wiped at her eyes and hiked up her skirt to run to her room, where she slammed the door again and went to her desk. She put her head in her hands and took a shaky breath. _'Just when I thought I was out of tears.'_


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy shifted in her seat in the coffee shop. Despite her lifestyle, it was the first place she had ever been that could truly be described as swanky: there were vertical gardens on every wall, the décor was the mix of coffee brown and pale green of yoga moms trying to be zen and earthy, and the music pumping out of the speakers was new age techno music that made her lightheaded.

She swirled her latte around one more time and checked the time. She was supposed to meet her mystery man here, but she had no idea where he was. He had passed her in the street on her way home three days ago, slipping a card into her fingers and telling her to call him whenever she could. Jacob, who still believed himself to be her faithful bodyguard, hadn't seemed to have noticed the exchange, which put the man on a pedestal in Lucy's mind. She had called him after the meeting two days ago, and he had asked to meet her here. Luckily, Jacob had matters on the Cobeson side of things to attend to today, so she had snuck away unnoticed.

She fingered the card once again, tracing the emblem she had already memorized. It was a horned goat, outlined in black ink above a phone number. It was printed on nice paper, but the strangest thing to Lucy was that it looked familiar, like an old memory trying to come to the surface.

"Miss Lucy." Lucy jumped, looking up at the incredibly tall man who had appeared in the empty chair across from her. He was dressed remarkably well, in a dark gray suit and crisp white dress shirt. His brown-gray hair was gelled back, and he was wearing sunglasses. Lucy couldn't tell if he was thirty or fifty.

She folded her shaking hands to hide her surprise at his appearance and raised her head in acknowledgment. "Hello, Mr…" Her eyes darted to the card, but she already knew there wasn't a name on it. She knew nothing about him, except for the strange feeling that she could trust him. But just because she felt she could didn't mean she would. Her trust was hard-earned these days.

"Roman C. Stone. But please, call me Capricorn."

Lucy nodded awkwardly, rolling the strange name around in her head. She didn't offer her name back, as he obviously already knew her. "So, Capricorn, why did you ask to meet me? And how do you know me?"

Capricorn hummed. "I'll start with the second question. I work as a private legal investigator, and I worked with your mother on a few cases involving your father's business." Lucy felt her brain grind to a halt at that information. "Layla was incredibly… concerned about his affairs. I last worked with her when you were about five or six, I believe. You've grown into a fine young lady."

Lucy blushed at his compliment, but the shock of this stranger knowing her mother outweighed all of her other emotions. "You… knew my mom?" She felt bad for being repetitive, but it was a touchy subject for her to think about, even on her best days. But he only nodded graciously at her shock.

"Yes, very well. We met in graduate school, with Jude as well, though I doubt he remembers me. From college or fifteen years ago." He smiled as Lucy laughed. _'He's not wrong,'_ she thought, thinking of all the times her father had failed to recognize some members of the house staff. "After they got married, Layla called me and asked me to help her look into Jude's empire. He wasn't doing anything incredibly illegal whenever I looked into it, but Layla was always worried. I felt like she knew more than she was telling me. But by the time I realized that, well…"

Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat. Her mother's death had been swift, too swift for a seven-year-old Lucy to really understand it. Even nineteen-year-old Lucy didn't like to dwell on it too much. "So that was the end of your involvement with the Heartfilias?"

Capricorn nodded. "Until today, at least. I've been keeping tabs on your family, however, at Layla's request. I didn't feel it necessary, as I hardly found anything all those years ago. But in light of recent events, I might be able to fulfill her last request of me."

Lucy's heart rate picked up. "Last request?"

"Yes. Layla suspected of Jude of total industry domination. And I have the feeling she was right, especially now."

Lucy swallowed, nervous to ask her next question. "And what made you change your mind?"

Capricorn took out a folded newspaper clipping and spread it out on the table, and Lucy couldn't hide her choked gasp at the image. It was a bloody face, grinning in triumph at what Lucy knew was a recent victory. Black eyes shone underneath pink bangs, totally oblivious to the split lip dripping blood.

Lucy looked up to meet Capricorn's shaded stare. "The arrest of the Salamander."


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy stared at the picture of Natsu, her chest aching with an intensity she hadn't felt in months. She hadn't seen him in almost a year, ever since his arrest from her bedroom. She had begun to accept the fact that she would never see him again, but it was hard. But now, his laugh echoed in her mind less and less; gradually being replaced with the steady drone of Jacob's voice on outlays. The shine of passion in his black eyes was fading to the cold detachment of her father's brown eyes. She could hardly recall the sound of his voice; joking at the pub, firing off some hot remark, or even just saying her name.

He was slipping further away.

"Your father has been looking for the Salamander for years. Anyone involved with Don knows he has the Salamander on a tight leash; that's how his pub stays afloat. Most dives in this city's underground don't survive half as long as Don's has. If you want to talk to Don, you gotta get through his pet first. And Jude couldn't—"

"He isn't a pet," Lucy said, angry at Capricorn's term. "N—" Lucy caught herself on saying Natsu's name; she wasn't sure how much Capricorn knew. "He isn't kept on a leash or ordered around. It's more like… a mutual relationship. Don gets protection, and he gets a place to go back to." Lucy paused. "What does Don have to do with this exactly?"

"Don is quite an important man in the Underground, I'm afraid. But more importantly, I get the feeling you messed up quite a lot of both Don and your father's plans with the Salamander, yes?" Capricorn's stare bore into Lucy, but she was missing too much information to follow any of the tangents he laid out.

"Plans? What plans did I mess up? And how?"

A pulse of silence followed her questions. Capricorn hummed thoughtfully before answering. "Well, from your, and forgive me, naïve rendition of the Salamander's position of power at the pub, I'm now assuming Don lets the kid roam free as long as he keeps a low profile. But make no mistake, Miss Lucy; he _is_ under Don's command. Don's a crafty man, he just doesn't look like it." For the first time in months, Don's fear-filled dough face floated up from the depths of her memory, and she tried to imagine him doing anything slightly clever. Her lips twitched at the thought, but she didn't argue with Capricorn. She knew next to nothing about the man, as Natsu had always been careful to steer her clear of him.

"And what about plans my father may have had?" Lucy asked, trying to learn as much as she could. Capricorn obviously knew some things about both Natsu and her father's empire, and she needed information on both.

"Your father had his sights set on Don's pub for a while, trying to get the pub's business to complete his control of the industry, according to the information I've gathered. I believe that's the reason you first went there." At Lucy's nod, he continued. "But I have the feeling he also sent you to see if you could draw the Salamander out. He was the one obstacle to gaining industry domination, and sending in a pretty girl to do a grown man's dirty work is a classic tycoon move, I'm afraid. Easier to distract a teenaged boy with someone like you than someone like me."

Lucy stared in bewilderment. "He knew about N—the Salamander? I thought no one knew he definitely existed! Much less any concrete evidence about him."

Capricorn chuckled. "The press and common people didn't know anything about him. But money, as I'm sure you know, goes a long way these days. There are other people with skills like mine that take much higher dollar, and I'm sure after a few visits to that pub anyone sober enough could figure out what the kid was." Lucy hummed in agreement.

"But as for your father's plans for him, I'm assuming he wanted to use you to find the kid's weak spot. But you running off wasn't part of his plan, so he had to make it look like a kidnapping. And later when you came back, he couldn't just erase the charges. But the Salamander getting arrested means legal groups getting involved, and the last thing your father needs is the law inspecting his affairs."

Lucy swallowed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Miss Lucy," Capricorn said, tilting his head as if to look over the rims of his sunglasses. "Your father and Alyssa Cobeson almost fully control the underground distribution of illegally concentrated alcohol in the entire Hargeon area."

Lucy spit out her latte. The words _Cobeson_ and _illegal_ stuck in her brain as she sputtered and choked. "I'm sorry," she finally panted. "But could you explain that a bit more?" Lucy was impressed with how nonchalant she sounded.

She could almost see Capricorn blink behind those impossibly dark sunglasses. He hummed in thought before speaking. "Jude always had lofty goals for the future, and I guess he finally realized that walking the good path would only get him so far. I don't know how, but he somehow got involved with the Cobesons and their affairs, which are as selfishly prosperous as they come, but that's a different matter altogether. I'm sure that Cobeson and Jude split a deal for industry domination about 10 or so years ago, as their stocks have been rising at a steady rate ever since then.

"This was a little after the time Layla came to me, but I only recently found proof of what she had suspected all along. They're getting desperate for Don's holdings and affairs, so they've made some mistakes in bribes and blackmail. A few of the more sober in that pub of his have admitted seeing Jude and Don fighting on a few separate occasions, your Salamander having to intervene more than once." It brought a smile to Lucy's face to think of her father's face when Natsu stepped into the argument.

But a thought suddenly struck her. "Capricorn, if I may ask, why are you telling me all of this? I'm of no use to my father professionally; I can't help you in any kind of investigation."

Capricorn chuckled good-naturedly. "Well, Miss Lucy, I beg to differ. If you're still as fiery as I remember you to be, you simply haven't taken an interest in your father's affairs. But if you just tried, I'm sure you'd be of plenty use to both me and your Salamander. And even if not, I felt it was your right to know what the Heartfilia name is truly worth."

Lucy's brain, however, had caught on to only one sentence. "What do you mean, be of use to you and the Salamander?"

Finally, those sunglasses lowered just enough to see Capricorn's eyes: kind yet sharp orbs of gray. "I mean, Miss Lucy, that both you and he can help me take down your father's dirty business, if you so wish."


	4. Chapter 4

Lucy's heart was threatening to beat out of her chest as she walked with Capricorn down the hall of Hargeon Penitentiary. Her pulse was drowning out the dribbling small talk Capricorn was having with their escort, who Lucy noticed was heavily armed.

After Capricorn dropped the bomb about her father's dirty business, he had told her of a contact that he needed to meet with. He had invited her, since she was now involved in his plan, and Lucy was surprised to find herself winding through the hallways of the Hargeon Penitentiary.

The stone walls moved impossibly slow in her peripheral vision, making her feel slightly nauseous. Riotous yells echoed from somewhere far away, but Lucy wasn't sure if they were real or just her imagination from watching prisons in movies. Either way, she felt more and more anxious the longer they walked. She picked up her pace to stride alongside Capricorn. "Who exactly are we meeting here?" she whispered, wondering what kind of meeting this could be.

"She's the warden of a specialized sector in this facility. I need to negotiate with her for something we need, and I figured it'd be good for you to come along." His smile was gentle, and Lucy found herself smiling back. The kindness made her skin warm, after weeks of nothing but formalities and disappointment.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking, they arrived in a small room not unlike an interrogation room. A table sat in the middle, with three chairs surrounding it. A strict looking woman was already sitting in one, facing the other two empty ones sitting side-by-side across from her. Her black hair was pulled into a severe bun, and her brown eyes were hard as they followed Lucy and Capricorn's walking. They took their seats quietly, the scrape of the metal legs against the stone floor making Lucy jumpy.

As soon as they were settled, Capricorn started talking. "Good afternoon,—"

"Please cut with the formalities, Capricorn. We're here to discuss a bail, am I correct?"

Capricorn cleared his throat as if he hadn't just been rudely interrupted. Lucy was still reeling from this woman's blatant disrespect, and the topic of this meeting. _'Bail?'_

"Yes, of your prisoner 58410. He was admitted a few months ago, and I understand he had a bail put out but no one bothered with it." Capricorn slid a file across the table, and Lucy had no idea where he pulled it from. He hadn't been holding it five minutes ago. "I know the pay date has far expired, but I'm sure that you can respect the wishes of a dear friend." His voice was the smooth timber of a man that wanted something; a voice Lucy was all too familiar with due to the frequent meetings with her father. But where her father and his employees always had the air of desperation about them, Capricorn didn't seem as if he cared one way or the other about how this negotiation ended. Which begged the question: how necessary was this negotiation?

Capricorn's contact hummed thoughtfully as she picked up the file, giving him a long look before flipping it open. Her eyes bugged out of her head almost immediately, before looking at Capricorn like he was out of his mind. "Roman, I can't just _give_ him to you. There are big names tied up in this—"

"I know, Libra." Capricorn's voice was heavy, and Lucy was growing nervous. Just who was this prisoner? How were they connected to her father's empire? "But this isn't just another case; it's for Layla."

The woman, Libra, sobered up at the drop of Lucy's mother's name. "Layla, from all those years ago? The bootlegging case?" At Capricorn's nod, Libra's eyes flitted over to Lucy. "So this must be…"

Lucy figured this was the real reason Capricorn brought her, so she composed herself as best she could. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia, Layla's daughter." She gave a shy little wave, but Libra had already moved on.

"Is this about Jude, still? Capricorn, you can't keep holding on to that—"

"We have a real case this time. With Lucy's inside status, I feel like she can help where Layla couldn't. Jude _wants her_ in with him, wants to keep his name going. You don't know him; the man is obsessed. I need to fix it, for her."

Lucy was beginning to think that Capricorn wasn't just doing this for justice.

Libra gave him a long look, before sighing heavily. "It's not going to be easy. Like I said before there are big names tied up in this kid, more than just hers." She nodded to Lucy, but something she said sparked Lucy's interest. _'Kid?'_

Libra continued. "They check on him pretty frequently, trying to draw out information or cut deals with him. They send this one kid pretty consistently, but nothing ever results from—"

"Wait," Lucy cut in, pieces of the story coming together in her mind. "Is it a boy, maybe a little older than me, with blond hair?" Libra nodded, giving Lucy a skeptical look. Lucy's mind was racing, trying to see the bigger picture, but she couldn't. Not without that file.

"Anyway, it will probably be at least a few weeks, maybe even months, until I can smuggle him out somewhat safely. But that will give you time, both to build your case and pay the bail."

Capricorn nodded, a smile lifting his lips slightly. "Of course; how much do do we owe you?"

"Well, he hasn't been exactly easy to handle, as he's racked up a few charges of battery and assault since he got here, on top of his original bail, so it's at about… $32,000 right now. I'll settle it there, though." Her lips twisted in a smirk at Capricorn's almost imperceptible swallow, and Lucy's flat out choke. "I'll keep in touch with you as the process goes along, but now I really must be going. It's hard enough to keep this place in balance _without_ visits from old friends." Libra stood swiftly from her chair, walking toward the door. "It was good to see you again, Capricorn, and nice to meet you as well Ms. Heartfilia. We'll be in touch."

Capricorn stood politely as she walked away, and Lucy watched her go. She turned back one last time at the door, looking dead at Lucy. "The Salamander has spoken highly of you, Miss Hear—Lucy." Lucy blinked, unsure how to respond. Libra turned once again and left, the door clicking shut decisively.

Capricorn turned to look down at her, and for the first time in a year Lucy felt a smile threaten to split her face apart. He smiled fondly, patting her on the shoulder before guiding her to the door. "Let's go, Miss Lucy. We still have much to do."


	5. Chapter 5

Lucy took a shaky breath as she prepared to knock on the looming door to her father's office. Her heart was still pounding from the meeting with Libra and Capricorn, but she had business to attend to. Capricorn had left her at a street corner, telling her to gain her father's confidence.

 _'Guess now's a good a time as any,'_ she thought, drawing up her courage and knocking on the thick wood. A muffled sound came from inside that Lucy took to be a "Come in," and she entered. She felt jittery as she walked through the door. She tried to ignore how starchy her blouse was, or how restrictive her skirt was. She shuffled up to her father's desk, and tried to maintain eye contact with his confused stare.

"Hello, Father," she said, trying to keep her voice strong in the face of the action she was about to take. "I'm here to apologize for my behavior these last few months. I've been upset, and I realize now that I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you." Lucy's heart rate was erratic, and she felt like she was betraying someone, but she didn't know who. "I would like to ask your forgiveness, and a second chance."

The silence in the air was electric as her father's gaze searched her face. Lucy was determined not to let him find whatever he was looking for.

After a small eternity, the closest thing to a gentle smile Jude was capable of touched her father's lips. "My Lucky Lucy. I knew you would come around." Lucy didn't react, but it didn't seem to faze Jude. "I'm glad you see how foolishly you were acting. It's good that hoodlum was taken when he was, or you might never have come to your senses."

Lucy grit her teeth. "Yes, Father." She tried to steady her boiling blood, but it was a real effort. "What would you have me do to start my training in the company?"

Her father stood and walked around his desk, gesturing to her to follow him to the door. "I will return you to Cobeson's son's company. He did well with you before all this mess began, and I believe you could learn from him. I will keep in touch with both of you to track your progress."

Lucy's brain glitched. "Wait, I won't be working with you?" Her father turned slightly, and Lucy felt a little revolted at the tenderness in his face. It was such a… _fatherly_ look, one he didn't deserve to give after everything he'd done to her.

"One day we will work together, my Lucky Lucy. But first we have to get you there, and I have to keep running the company so it will be there for you." He turned back and knocked sharply on a door Lucy had never seen before. He entered without waiting for permission, and they walked into a spacious office.

 _'Reason number 492 why a mansion is terrible to live in,'_ Lucy thought. She should have explored her house more, so now she wouldn't be so caught off guard. It was far from one of the more luxurious rooms in the house, but it was hardly austere. True to the Heartfilia reputation, Lucy figured. She followed her father to the desk, where a voice was talking on the phone. The chair was facing the wall, making Lucy roll her eyes from the dramatic buildup. She already knew it was Jacob in the chair. He was just trying to impress her father.

"No, thank you." The chair spun around to reveal, of course, Jacob. He ended the call and put on a terrible surprised face. His mouth was even in an actual 'O'. "Mr. Heartfilia, sir. I didn't hear you come in." His eyes flitted to Lucy, and she was pleased to see his expression sour slightly. His voice, however, was still as gracious as ever. "And Miss Heartfilia, what a nice surprise."

"Hey Jacob," Lucy said, as casually as she could. His nice guy mask broke for a split second at her lack of formality, but it didn't break completely. _'Damn,'_ Lucy thought, her one hope at amusement dashed.

"Cobeson, I'm entrusting her training to you. She needs to know everything about the company from the ground up, and all of our contacts and affairs. Especially about the local contacts."

Jacob gave Jude an undecipherable look. "All of them, sir? She is just starting, after all, and we shouldn't trust her so—"

Lucy caught her father's eyebrows draw together, and bit back a smile. Jacob was in for it. "Jacob, are you insinuating I shouldn't trust my own daughter?"

Immediately Jacob was spluttering out gibberish. "No—Sir, I—It's just—"

"Good," her father said, but he didn't look appeased. Lucy put on her best hurt face when he turned to look at her. "I'm sorry, my dear. That was unnecessary for you to hear, but let it be a lesson to you. You will always be seen differently because you are a woman, and that is especially a challenge in the business world. But you can use it to your advantage, as well." He put a hand on her shoulder before he strode to the door.

As soon as the door thumped closed, Lucy put on her bitchiest smile and turned to meet Jacob's anger. She leaned back on the desk and gave him a mean look. "Okay, Mr. Cobeson. Teach daddy's girl everything she needs to know."


	6. Chapter 6

Weeks turned into months. Two months after Lucy's induction into the company, she was sipping on a latte in the swanky café as Capricorn read through a small pink notebook with a flower on the front. It was a comical scene, an intense investigative lawyer perusing a notebook meant for a fourth-grade girl. But fourth-grade girls didn't right down the names and transactions of local bars, pubs, and dives with the Heartfilia and Cobeson companies.

Capricorn pointed at a particular spot on the page, humming. "So my information was correct: Don's pub is the only untouched business in the entire Hargeon area."

Lucy nodded over her foam. "Yep, and he's written a lot of angry letters to both my father and Alyssa on why he doesn't want any part of their business. But there isn't really a clear reason. It's not because of the over-concentrated liquor, that's for sure. He already sells plenty of the stuff."

Capricorn nodded pensively. "I see. That's very strange, Miss Lucy. Is there any way we can obtain copies of these letters?"

Lucy shook her head. "Nope. Jacob's in charge of that account, so he won't let me anywhere near them. He's still suspicious." Which was infuriating for Lucy; she'd been walking on eggshells for more almost three months now.

"Very well, don't worry about it then. You should see if you can steal that account from him, since it's our key player in this scheme. I'm sure Jude will give it to you, since it is doubtful the Cobeson boy has made any progress with Don. He has unshakable trust in you."

"For some reason," Lucy laughed. She had been going through private files, copying down illegal transactions, and memorizing every word Alyssa Cobeson and her father's phone calls in her quest to topple the Heartfilia name. It was a sweet betrayal her father would never see coming.

As Capricorn kept reading, Lucy stirred her latte in thought. "Capricorn, can I ask you something?" The man looked up from the notebook expectantly. "You keep mentioning information you receive from this mysterious informant. He obviously knows about my father and the pub pretty well…" Lucy could see he knew what she was hinting at. She had theorized about it for weeks; there was no other person that knew how to operate in the pub and had so much background of working with her father and his partner.

Capricorn let out a breath. "You are as astute as ever, Miss Lucy. And I'm sorry I kept it from you. But yes, the Salamander is my informant, as you put it." Lucy's heart stopped; having her suspicions and having them confirmed were two different things. "So he's out? Libra pulled through?" Lucy couldn't keep the excitement from her voice.

Capricorn's smile faltered. "Not yet, Miss Lucy. She is still pulling strings to get him out as quietly as possible. I believe you would have heard about it from your side of things, as well, had he been released." Lucy nodded, crestfallen yet understanding. He was right; she would've heard the minute Natsu had been out. "But I have met with him a few times to ask him questions that I needed answered."

Lucy ignored the prick of betrayal she felt at that information. "Why you? He'd be much more likely to tell me more information; I doubt he trusts you as much—"

"You are right, he does not trust me. But he knows that I know you, and it keeps him cooperative. I do not dare send you, for many reasons. One, you cannot be seen there; it will compromise all of the progress you have made with your father. Two, your Salamander is not as you knew him."

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked lowly. She wouldn't be stopped from seeing Natsu anymore, especially not by an ally.

"As soon as I heard of his arrest, I contacted Libra to keep an eye on him. So she did, in the only way a prison warden could. He became her guard dog, in a sense, keeping other prisoners in line when they caused a riot. He's done nothing but fight for over a year now. He hasn't spoken much, according to her, and getting him to open up was impossible without dropping your name. But I'm worried for what he will do when he sees you again. However he was when you first met him, that may be where you are starting again."

Lucy sat completely still. She remembered how Natsu had been ready to leave her in the street all by herself, compared to how they were inseparable up until his arrest. There was no way she would have to start over.

"I want to meet with him, Capricorn." It was not a request, and Capricorn seemed to understand this. He didn't answer immediately, however, and Lucy felt her blood boil. "Capricorn."

"Very well, Miss Lucy. Next time you have a break in your schedule, we will go visit your Salamander. But I have warned you." He snapped the notebook closed and stood. Lucy followed, feeling only slightly bad she forced his hand. But she was his partner in this, not another pawn or informant. And she had been kept from Natsu for far too long.

"Thank you, Capricorn."


	7. Chapter 7

"Where are you off to today, my dear?"

Lucy cringed at the sound of Jude's voice. He had been so much like a father lately, guiding her and being encouraging, taking an expressed interest in her activities. It made her sick. He'd been bringing her to meetings, spending time in her office, and generally trying to make up for his shitty behavior for the last twenty years.

Lucy wasn't having it. "Out. I have a few personal matters to attend to. I should be back by dinner." She kept her voice flat, hoping he'd notice her disinterest in talking to him.

He didn't. "That sounds fun." There was something in his voice that had Lucy turning to face him. He was looking slightly to the left of her, and Lucy followed his line of sight to see he was looking at a picture frame on Lucy's desk. It was of a young Lucy smiling with her mother. Layla had a gentle smile on her face as she looked at her young daughter, who was grinning with a smudge of icing on her face. It was from Lucy's seventh birthday; the last one Layla had come to.

"She'd be proud of you, Lucy. Very proud." Lucy looked back up at her father and saw his eyes were shining. An unwelcome pang of pity enveloped Lucy's heart, and she smiled sadly, nodding in agreement.

"I think so, too, Father."

/

Lucy stared at the large metal door looming in front of her. "He's in here, Ms. Heartfilia." Libra stood next to her, looking as severe as the last time they'd met. She had a clipboard in her arms, and Lucy could imagine her whacking wayward prisoners with it. "I will enter first, as I've met with him once today already to tell him you were coming. I'll explain about the parameters of your visit, then I'll leave you two alone." Lucy ignored her suggestive smirk and watched her walk through the door.

As Libra took longer and longer, Lucy felt more and more nervous. What if Capricorn had been right? What if Natsu had truly forgotten all about her? She remembered when she had run to the pub from Jacob; he had looked right through her in his drunken state after only days apart. What had months of nothing but fighting and beatings done to his memory of her?

The door clicked back open in the middle of Lucy's musings. Libra looked slightly shaken, and had the scent of smoke on her. _'Smoke?'_ "I just got a call, Lucy. You can take him with you when you leave." Lucy's heart jumped. She held the door open for Lucy, who entered against her better judgement.

The door clicked shut, and Lucy looked around the room. It wasn't unlike the interrogation rooms she saw on crime shows. There was a large window spanning an entire wall, which she guessed was two-way, and was probably where Libra was. There was no other decoration. The walls were pure white, though, different from the gritty cinderblock on TV.

At the table in the middle of the room sat Natsu. He didn't look up as she walked over to him, instead staring at something in his hand. He hardly twitched when Lucy's chair made a scraping sound when she pulled it back, or scooted back toward the table.

They sat in silence for a minute, and Lucy took the time to look him over. His hair had gotten much longer, some strands falling in his eyes or brushing the tops of his bare shoulders. There was dried blood crusted in his hairline, on his face, and on his torso. He had gotten more muscular since the last time she'd seen him, too, a blush rising to her face as she traced the lines of his body.

Coughing quietly, she decided to make the first move. "Hey," she murmured softly, trying not to startle him. His eyes flicked up to her, and Lucy felt all fear of Capricorn being right drain away. His eyes were tired, but warm and familiar. His lips twitched as he stared at her.

"Hey," he croaked hoarsely. Moving as one, they both stood up. Lucy scrambled across the table and jumped into his arms, which immediately closed around her and squeezed all of the breath out of her. Her eyes stung with tears at the familiar solidarity of his chest. She hiccuped when his arms tightened again, and she looked up to see him smiling like an idiot.

Lucy choked out a laugh through her tears. "Why are you smiling?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why're you cryin'?" He chuckled at her pout and ruffled her hair. "You gettin' me outta here or what?" Lucy laughed and nodded, still too shaky to trust herself to speak. Natsu followed behind her, but made a panicked noise and ran back to the table.

Lucy looked back to see him swipe something off the table before rejoining her. "What was that?" she asked. Natsu gave her an uneasy look, but pulled out a small lighter from his pocket. Lucy stared at it, knowing she had never seen it before. It was a small red lighter, thicker than others she had seen, with a black outline she guessed was a salamander curling around it. She darted her gaze back up to Natsu, who was watching her carefully.

"It's a lighter," Lucy stated, hoping he was going to explain something. He smirked at her and shrugged, shoving the lighter back in his pocket. "Yeah, and I hope I won't have to use it. Now, can we go?" His voice took on a whiny pitch, and Lucy laughed once more. She was glad his time here hadn't changed him all that much; he was still the same goofy idiot she had grown to love.

"Yes, you dork. Come on." She grabbed his arm and started dragging him out the door, listening to his amused chuckles. She couldn't wipe the stupid grin off her face as she listened to him pester her with questions; he was back.


	8. Chapter 8

Natsu was oddly quiet as they walked down the street. His hair was freshly cut from one of Libra's associates, Cancer, and Lucy was beginning to think she needed to ask Capricorn more about this Zodiac-themed band of mysterious legends he was part of; a legal investigator, high-security prison warden, and retired-assassin-turned-barber hardly seemed like old friends from college.

Natsu coughed, and Lucy's eyes darted over to see his face directly in front of hers. She squeaked and smacked him, but her hand never connected; her wrist was in his hand so fast she hardly saw him move. He looked just as startled as she felt, and he took a big step away from her. His teasing look was gone in place of a glare at his feet as they continued walking toward the pub. Neither of them spoke until they reached the door, when Natsu whispered a soft "sorry" before taking her hand and pulling her inside.

In all her time at the pub, Lucy had never heard silence within its walls. But when the drunks spotted them both standing in the doorway, every yell, mumble, and whisper stopped completely. Every pair of eyes was on Natsu, who stood stonily under all of the attention. His hand around Lucy's tightened almost painfully, and he looked almost tense. Uncomfortable, even. His knuckles in his other hand, his fighting arm, popped, and Lucy figured someone should probably do something before Natsu did.

Luckily, someone had figured this out. A whoop sounded in the back, causing a cacophony of yelling and screaming. "Salamanders's back!" "He's come back to us!" "Back to reclaim his title!" The yells swallowed Lucy's senses as she followed Natsu through the crowd. He accepted the crowd's enthusiasm with a big grin, occasionally knocking people on the shoulder gently as a hello. His discomfort from only a minute ago had vanished completely.

But he was still popping his knuckles, Lucy noticed.

After a never ending stream of hellos and shoulder punches, they finally reached the bar, where Don stood frozen. He had gotten thinner since the last time Lucy had seen him a year ago, making his wide eyes seem even bigger as they stared at Natsu like he was a ghost. A beer mug dangled half-clean in his pudgy hands, rag hanging limply from its rim.

Another crack echoed from Natsu's fist. "Hey, old man." Lucy didn't like how low Natsu's voice was; it was his fighting voice.

Don took a step back from the bar and snapped his fingers. Natsu stiffened at the same time a hulking figure at the end of the bar lumbered toward them. He had a thick mop of spiky red hair that shot up over his head, barely restrained by a headband. His squinty eyes were locked onto both of them, sizing them up like every other fighter Lucy had met. _'So this must be Don's new champion,'_ Lucy wondered idly, more focused on how Natsu had let go of her hand and made her fingers cold.

The new guy stared down at Natsu haughtily, and Lucy figured he must not know who he was. "You must be—" Natsu's fists landed in his open mouth, sending the new guy flying over the bar to lay at Don's feet. Lucy leaned over to check on him, and he was out cold. _'He definitely had no idea who Natsu was,'_ she decided. She turned and eyed Natsu carefully again, paying a little bit more attention now that they were back somewhere familiar. Because this new strength of his was completely foreign to her.

He had always been muscular, but he where he used to be the kind of built where he looked like an occasional gym-goer, he now looked the part of a street fighter: hard lines and sharp angles defined his figure. He had grown, too, and Lucy guessed that meant his strength had grown as well. The main thing she noticed, however, was how he seemed so much more in control of himself. He wasn't twitching as much as he used to, always itching for a fight. His eyes burned more carefully now, not flaring up and dying down at the drop of a hat.

It scared her more than she'd like to admit.

"Who's that?" Natsu asked, his voice still that low rumble. Don's eyes flitted back and forth between Natsu and the fighter laying at his feet, panic slowly setting in as he realized there was no way out of this conversation for him.

He finally began to stutter out answers. "H-He is— _was_ , he _was_ the new champion. After you left, oh, Salamander, it was chaos—" Natsu's knuckles popped loudly, and Don flinched, "—E-everyone was clambering to take your name for themselves. We all thought you were gone forever when the girl told us the fuzz—"

"Lucy," Natsu said, and Lucy looked up as Don choked on his sentence. "Her name is Lucy, old man." Don nodded hurriedly, and Lucy stared at Natsu in amazement. He had never corrected Don once on his calling her "girl." _'Something must really be up.'_

"Lucy, of course. Well, when she came and told us you had been taken, and she—" Lucy shot Don a look, and he quieted once again. She didn't want Natsu knowing what she had been up to the past year quite yet. Natsu turned and gave her a puzzled look, but she waved him around.

"We didn't know what to do, kid. Once you're in there, there's no getting you ou—"

"They posted a bail, Don. And I know you knew. What I want to know is what you've been doing that was so goddamn important that you couldn't get me out. You have a fund for the exact purpose of getting me out of there; what happened before I got slammed?"

Lucy looked to Natsu in shock. A fund? Don knew Natsu would get caught? All of these facts swirled around in her head. Don stuttered out nothings for about ten more seconds before he sighed, suddenly amazingly calm. He looked around shiftily before curling a finger in a summons. Natsu started forward, with Lucy following closely behind, but Natsu put a hand on her hip.

"No, Luce," he murmured under the roar of the pub. "I don't want you near him, not when he's like this. He'll wrap you up in one of his plans so fast—"

"You aren't the only one who's been busy this last year, Natsu. I know all about Don and the 'plans' he's dragged you into. And I've figured out how to handle myself." She brushed past him without meeting his eyes, not ready for the questions she knew he'd ask. She needed this time to meet the real Don—or, as the Underground knew him: the Keeper.


	9. Chapter 9

The Keeper was known in the Underground for always having low-grade black market connections: hackers, fences, dealers, mercenaries. Capricorn had given her a file on the Keeper a few months ago, and she had pored over the information, trying to overcome the dumpy glass cleaner image she associated with Don. But once she reached the part about the Keeper's "pet," so called by the Underground, she knew that it was definitely him. This "pet," known commonly as the Salamander, went with Don to every business transaction to ensure that things went smoothly and stayed secret. In fact, the Keeper was only so well known because of the Salamander's protection; he was nothing without it.

Hence Lucy's father's need to find Natsu: once he was out of the picture, Don would be defenseless. His business would fall in a matter of days without the protection of the Salamander, and the Heartfilias and Cobesons would completely control the monopoly on illegally concentrated liquor distribution in the black market.

Which had begged the question for both Lucy and Capricorn: how had Don stayed afloat this last year?

Lucy followed both men down a cramped hallway she had never noticed before; there was no stench of beer, no stained walls or crooked floorboards. The hall curved into a nicer office, making it feel like they had walked to an entirely different building. It was almost like a spare room in the Heartfilia manor; spacious, luxurious, and totally for show.

"Please, have a seat." Don gestured to one of the chairs in front of his ridiculously large desk, where Lucy spotted a familiar looking file. Intrigued, she reached out for it, only to have her hand swatted away. "No, no. That's not for you."

A low growl from the back of the room startled both Don and Lucy. Natsu was standing threateningly by the door, obviously tense but unmoving as he locked eyes with Don. "Careful, old man. I won't hesitate on you anymore; you lost that right. So treat her right, you hear?" Lucy's heart both warmed and skipped a beat at those words; something had changed about Natsu.

Don clucked from behind her, and she saw that something had changed about him, too. Where he normally cowered at Natsu's—no, the Salamander's— anger, now he seemed merely put off. "Now, now, Salamander. You know that things work differently in this room: I'm in control, and you're not. So be a good boy and be quiet while we do business."

Lucy felt like she'd been slapped. Where was Don the coward? Who always shrunk at the sight of Natsu, who flinched at his slightest movement? This man was no coward; he was calculating, dominating. He had Natsu standing completely still in the back of room, angry yet still. It both amazed and enraged her.

Natsu was only enraged. "Don, we came back here to talk about—"

Don waved a hand. "I'll deal with you, later. I want to talk to your pretty friend here first." His eyes turned on Lucy, who tried to look as defiant as possible. "So, Lucy, was it? Or Ms. Heartfilia? How is your father?"

Lucy blinked at the directness; her mind was still spinning at Don's character change. How did he know her last name? She opened her mouth to answer his question, or ask her own, but remembered a warning Capricorn had given her about the Keeper. _"He's called the Keeper for a reason, Miss Lucy. He keeps and guards every piece of information he's ever told. The Salamander only protects him. If you ever get the chance, you need to learn everything you can from him, but don't tell him anything he wants to know. It will be your downfall."_

Lucy blew out a breath and reclined back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other. "He's not really relevant right now, sorry. I do, however, have a few things to ask you, _Keeper_." Don's eyes widened to the size of fine china at his title. Lucy stood, stepping around the chair and pushing it back in, leaning on the back casually while maintaining her control on the situation. "You obviously have an agenda involving both my father's business, and he," Lucy jabbed a thumb at Natsu behind her. "is involved, as well. You have refused to sell to the Heartfilias or the Cobesons for going on two years now, despite the state of your business, and you somehow managed to stay afloat despite your only form of true protection in the Underground being incarcerated for a year. Talk."

Don blinked at her, and she groaned in frustration. She hadn't even stuttered once, and the man could only _blink.'So much for perfect delivery,'_ she thought absently. She tried again. "I've read every file on you, Don Capricho. You are the center of a network so extensive you've buried companies in a matter of hours. My father obviously knows about or wants access to this network, and I'd bet my inheritance that you know why." She remembered a piece of advice from her father: _"Never ask for something twice in a negotiation. Don't be desperate, and don't be earnest. Act like you could get what you want from someone else without saying it."_ It pained Lucy to even remember it.

When it seemed like Don wasn't going to answer immediately, she looked down at her fingernails dismissively, trying to disguise her racing pulse at the situation she'd gotten herself into. She didn't want Don to do reveal any secrets from the past year to Natsu, and she hoped that her unexpected knowledge of his position and actions would keep his mouth shut for at least this encounter.

Don puffed out his cheeks in exasperation. "I must say, Ms. Heartfilia, you've thrown me for quite a loop. I see now why my Salamander is so attached to you." His eyes glinted in the dim light, flicking back toward Natsu. "As for why your father wants to get in contact with a few of my… _friends_ , I'll say,—" Natsu snorted from behind them— "—it seems he's gotten himself stuck between a rock and a hard place." Lucy raised an eyebrow at that, suppressing her racing thoughts.

"And what does my Salamander have to do with this? Well, it's no secret that that boy haunts the waking moments of men like your father. I'm sure he has some scheme of taking him from me, but as for his true motive I have no earthly idea."

Lucy opened her mouth once more, to ask if that was really true, but Don cut her off. "Enough, girl. I've answered your questions in respect to your sudden knowledge of my affairs, but I've overcome my surprise. You will answer my questions now. And my most pressing question is how exactly did you know all of this all of a sudden?"

Lucy knew she'd lost her feeble control on the situation. She pursed her lips and shifted, but didn't say anything. As soon as she did, it was over. Don must have noticed her resolve, and his expression soured. "Trust me, girl, it's in your best interest to answer me honestly."

Lucy choked, her thoughts grinding to a halt. She looked Don in the eye, his cruel gaze haughty. She scoffed, her bravado crumbling by the second. "What are you gonna do? You never get your hands dirty, you two-faced—"

"Ah, ah, ah, Ms. Heartfilia. You know how my business threats work. I won't do a thing to you, true, it would be barbaric of me." He raised his arm, then, finger pointing backwards. "But he can do quite a number on you, I believe."

Lucy followed his finger, dread weighing down her stomach. Sure enough, at the end of his finger was Natsu.


	10. Chapter 10

Natsu glanced down at the finger disinterested, eyebrow quirked as if bored. He probably was. "You talkin' about me?" Natsu kicked up off his perch against the wall and stalked toward the desk. Lucy heard the ominous crack of his fingers, and she realized that it hadn't sounded since the door had shut. _'He must have been thinking,'_ Lucy thought, shocked at the idea. But it was the only time Natsu was ever quiet.

Don feigned surprise. "Why, of course, Salamander. Have you been hitting the fire whiskey again?" Natsu clenched his teeth, and Lucy tried to remember if she knew what that was. It had been a while.

Don winced in sympathy. "Oh, sorry. Did she not know about your little drinking problem?" Don shifted his stare to Lucy, who was trying to keep up at this point, the purpose of the conversation long gone from her brain. "I've tried to get him to quit, honest, but every time that damned bell rings he downs the stuff like—"

"Enough!" Natsu roared, and Lucy flinched as he slammed his hands down on the table. Don smirked briefly, and Lucy saw what was happening. Don was trying to make Natsu angry, so he'd do something stupid. But Natsu didn't move after his outburst, leaving both Don and Lucy surprised. A year ago he would have already leapt the table. _'What happened in that prison, Natsu?'_

"Damn, kid. You really took it hard in there." Don's voice softened almost imperceptibly, taking Lucy by surprise. "Guess you finally got clocked good enough." Natsu stiffened, but didn't say anything. Lucy's heart broke.

"On that note, kid," Don continued, and Lucy looked toward him curiously. "You'd better remember who's the boss around here, or you'll be on your way back."

Natsu's head snapped up, but Lucy beat him to the punch. "No!" she screamed. She went to leap across the desk, but Natsu got a firm hold of her waist. Don took a step back from her flailing arms, nonchalant, but Lucy saw the flash of fear in his eyes.

"What do you mean, old man?" Natsu's voice was guarded, and didn't at all convey the trembling Lucy felt in his hands against her hips.

"Ever since you took an interest in that pretty thing in your arms, I've been paying more attention. I figured you would try to leave, get a life of your own. And sure enough, you've let yourself forget _what you are_." Don's voice could cut through steel. "She doesn't change your circumstances; you are the Salamander, a monster, a damned demon from hell, and you belong to me.

"You want to know why I didn't get you out of there, Salamander? I wanted you to forget about that bitch. I thought a year would get her out of your system, but here you are, ready to defy me once again. And I have more than enough to send you straight back."

"You wouldn't," Natsu whispered, voice hoarse. His whole body was trembling against Lucy. She felt hollow, her eyes burning but not wet. Her throat contracted, but no words came out. _'I should have just answered. Then we wouldn't…_ he _wouldn't be in this mess.'_

"I will, Salamander. So what's it going to be? You going to test me?"

No one moved for what felt like forever, and Lucy took the opportunity. She twisted out of Natsu's slack grip, taking a step back from both men. "Okay! I'll answer your question! Just… don't take him away again." Lucy hated how vulnerable she sounded, but it had caught Don's attention. His gaze sharpened, and his smile grew.

"Oh, I see." His stare flitted between Natsu and Lucy. "How poetic. The delinquent boy gives the stifled heiress the freedom she never had. The romance of it all!" His voice was mocking, and Lucy felt a hopeless despair rising up. She had only taken Capricorn's words at their face value. But what he had really meant was that she couldn't give the Keeper _anything_ ; a look, a smile, a simple touch in his presence would mean the end.

"Do go on, Ms. Heartfilia. And Salamander, go back to the wall. She doesn't need you right now." Natsu bristled, but retreated. The fire that Lucy had noticed in the first fight of his she'd seen burned hotter than she'd ever seen.

Lucy cautiously sat down, hands folded in her lap. She allowed herself a glance at the clock on Don's desk, and straightened. She was supposed to be home in an hour. Don must have noticed her panic and smiled, all traces of his former malice was gone. "Don't worry, Ms. Heartfilia. I'm quite lenient. You only must answer my one question then I will let you leave. I don't need suspicion on top of everything else."

Lucy nodded in skeptical thanks. "Okay, then. I appreciate that. I learned about your affairs through a file in the clientele log. My father keeps detailed accounts of all of his clients and contacts, for contracts or future reference. I saw your picture when I was working an account, and wanted to learn what had happened since that day two years ago. It was mere curiosity, that's all."

Don hummed. "So he didn't assign you to me in any way? No underhanded business scheme or the like?"

Lucy scoffed at the thought of her father assigning anything underhanded to anyone besides Jacob. At least he was buying her lie; there was no way she would give up Capricorn. "Of course not, I doubt he even knows I've seen it. And if he does, what harm could a nineteen-year-old girl do?"

Don nodded after a beat. He seemed distracted. "Very well. Thank you Ms. Heartfilia. I will contact you again soon, as I will be desiring your services." Lucy froze halfway to standing up.

"What?" Natsu spoke up from the back of the room. His arms were crossed in what Lucy knew was a prevention of cracking his knuckles. "Don, she hasn't done anything. She doesn't belong in your twisted world of—"

"I could have said the same thing to you months ago, Salamander, yet you insisted on believing she could stay." Natsu flinched back. "So here she is, about to get wrapped up in my world, too." Don turned back to Lucy. "I will let him know when to bring you back down here, but until then, have a good day, Ms. Heartfilia. Salamander, take her back up. You're off the books for tonight."

Lucy nodded and turned to walk back out the door. Natsu followed her wordlessly. The door clicked shut, and Lucy breathed out. _'Just what have I gotten myself into?'_


	11. Chapter 11

Natsu was stony as they walked through the pub. He ignored all shouts of "Salamander, hey!" and "Good to see you, Salamander!" as he shoved his way through the drunkards. Lucy's hand was squeezed between his fingers as he dragged her forward. The crowd parted like always before them, but it didn't have the same respect it always did; they were afraid.

When they burst out of the door, Natsu showed no signs of stopping. He turned toward the back alleys, still dragging her, and Lucy decided to put her foot down. She twisted her wrist out of his grip and side-stepped into the first alley. Natsu turned, looking mildly shocked. He followed her skeptically into the alley, eyes wary. "Luce?"

Lucy knelt on the ground, patting the ground next to her invitingly. He didn't sit. "Natsu," she sighed. "Are you…okay? I haven't had the chance to ask you yet, but you seem…" Lucy couldn't think of the word: Different? Scarier? Both more in control and like a loose cannon?

Luckily, it seemed like Natsu got what she meant. He leaned against the wall, and Lucy's eyes drew to the spot where his shirt lifted up just a little bit. His loud exhale pulled her attention back up to his face. "Yeah, Luce. I'm…" He let out another breath, his head tilting back to look up at the sky. "I actually don't know how I am. I just got out of a literal hellhole just to jump back into more hot shit with Don, except this time I pulled you with me—"

Lucy shot up and hugged him, effectively cutting him off. Because she knew where this was going, and she was not going to have him think he was a monster again. _Don_ was the real monster in this, or her father, or even the Cobesons. She only wished he would realize that. "Natsu, you didn't drag me anywhere. I needed to talk to him. I have to figure out what's going on. There's more going on than I've found, or even—" She stopped herself; she didn't know if Don lived in these streets, too, and she couldn't let Capricorn's existence be known to the Keeper. But Natsu knew who she was talking about, and he nodded.

His arms wrapped around her waist tentatively, and his head rested on top of hers. He chuckled lowly, his chest vibrating against Lucy's. "You know, despite the hell that place was, I miss the action." Lucy choked in surprise; from Capricorn's sources, he had been used as a hired gun to beat rebellious prisoners into submission. And he missed it?

He continued, and he must have realized where her thoughts would take her. "Not because of the actual violence," he rushed to explain. "But I never had time to really process everything. I never let myself think about how I was caught or that I missed you." Lucy's breath hitched, and her cheeks burned. "I was just always moving. I just let the Salamander go, but now…" He let out another breath and picked up his head. Lucy looked up, and his head moved down toward hers.

Their foreheads connected, and Lucy forgot to breathe; he was _so close_. She could see every fleck of green in his black eyes. "I missed ya, Luce," he whispered huskily. Lucy thought she was going to faint, her knees felt like jelly. She swallowed thickly, trying to calm her head enough to respond.

She was surprised when she answered with a relatively smooth voice. "I missed you, too." Her voice was soft, so soft she was worried he didn't hear her. But he closed his eyes and smiled, a real smile that she hadn't seen in a year. She smiled, too, even when he stood back up and turned back toward the opening.

"Now come on, you gotta get home. The last thing I need is another kidnapping charge." He laughed at his own joke, and Lucy rolled her eyes. She went to follow him, but she caught sight of his hands. They were trembling, his fingers twitching occasionally. Lucy remembered Don telling them that he wasn't going to be in the ring any time soon.

Lucy sighed, warring with herself only briefly. She could give him some of the action he craved, at least. Her secret would come out sooner or later, anyway. Still, she couldn't meet his eyes as she called his name. "Natsu?"

She caught his feet rotating back toward her. "Yeah?"

"Um," she started. This was going to be a little more awkward than she thought. "You wanna…" She glanced up at him, looking confused yet expectant. She sighed, swallowing her nerves.

Lucy put her fists up in front of her chest and straightened her spine, looking him dead in the eyes. "Fight me, Natsu."


	12. Chapter 12

Neither of them moved for what must have been a few minutes. They were utterly still, the wind rustling through every now and then the only movement in the alley.

Lucy recalled that Don had reacted the same way when she came to him a year ago, asking him to teach her how to fight. He had dropped the glass he'd been cleaning, and after he'd come to his senses laughed at her for a solid five minutes. She'd been so mad she'd slammed her fist into the top of his bald head, and he had quickly agreed to coach her. After months of grueling workouts and matches with low-level fighters on Don's payroll, Lucy was now proficient enough to handle herself, she thought.

After a small eternity, Natsu reacted. "What?" he asked. He showed no emotion, no confusion or surprise. He only stared at her, like he didn't hear her the first time. Lucy noticed his hands had stopped shaking, though.

She edged closer, and she caught him tense up. "I said fight me. You obviously need to blow off some steam, so why not right now?"

He stared at her like she'd lost her mind. "Lucy, I'm not going to fight you. I've put in enough danger without—"

"Natsu, I'll be fine. I've trained with— uh, ever since you've been gone." She was not about to tell him she'd been trained by Don, not after that meeting. "I may not be able to hurt you, but I can take a hit and evade you long enough for you to—"

"Lucy, no! I ain't gonna hurt you. I'm not like whoever you trained with; I probably coulda knocked them outta the ring when I was like ten!" His eyes were wide now, like he was panicking. Lucy took in his stance; he looked ready to run. She backed off slightly, but refused to give up; she had been secretly hoping to see how she would fare against someone of his skill level.

"Okay, Natsu, okay. But will you at least let me practice on you? With all of this running around this last week I haven't had a chance to get to the gym." It was true, at least; she hadn't been in the pub since after her last meeting with Capricorn nine days ago. She watched Natsu size her up, his fingers flexing in thought.

He sighed in defeat, but held up a finger. "Okay, but I'm only going to defend." Lucy nodded eagerly; she was sure that after a moment he would start at least retaliating, to test her, maybe. He walked toward her, allowing her to square up in front of him. He didn't prepare a block, didn't take a defensive stance. Lucy smirked. He was underestimating her. Sure, she couldn't actually hurt him, but if he didn't get ready now she was sure to connect.

Lucy thrust her fist forward quickly, aiming at his chest at first. She didn't want to hit anything serious when he was—

Her fist was in his hand before she even saw him move. One minute his hand was by his side, the next her fist was safely cradled in his palm. He looked down at her, eyebrow quirked. He didn't seem impressed. Lucy frowned and knelt, getting on her hands and kicking her feet forward. Her heels hit his hands every time. She squashed down her frustration and sprang back up; she shouldn't have expected to hit him in the first place. She would never be able to.

She shot her fist toward his jaw, but he only cocked his head to the side as a deflection. But his eyes were starting to shine, ever so slowly. Lucy smiled; if she kept it up, he might actually fight back.

For the next few minutes, Lucy threw punches and kicks at him. He blocked every one, but with every attack his movements got quicker and quicker. She caught his hands twitching forward every so often, or a loud pop. _'Just one more,'_ she kept thinking, enjoying the feeling of her heart pounding and sweat pouring down her arms and back.

Finally, it happened. After a particularly fast punch, Lucy had to drop to the ground to avoid his fist swinging toward her face. Despite her quick drop, she felt his knuckles graze her forehead on the way down. She looked up briefly and saw his horrified expression, and realized she'd better act quick if she didn't want him to call it off. She pushed herself onto her hands again and kicked forward at his face. She felt her feet connect with his forearms before he pushed her legs forward, knocking her off balance.

A hand wrapped around her ankle, and Lucy swore. She dropped her whole body, trying to drag him with her. But his grip held, and he pulled her up slightly before tossing her backwards. She squeaked as she skidded across the dirt, getting up to run back at him but stopping at his expression. He was looking between his hand and her, fear flashing in his eyes. He took a step back from her, then turned around fully. "Natsu?" Lucy asked, confused.

"Go home, Luce. Workout's over. Come back to the pub tomorrow. I'll get the old man to put me in tonight." He turned the corner without looking back, leaving Lucy unsure what had just happened. But she knew better than to press the issue right now.

Not if she wanted answers.


	13. Chapter 13

Lucy had so much on her mind that she had forgotten what was waiting for her when she got home. Police had swarmed the property, sirens bathing the walls in red and blue. Two men at the door IDed her when she walked up, and then escorted her inside directly to her father's office.

When her father saw her, he ran over and hugged her strongly. "Oh, my Lucky Lucy! Thank God you're back." He released her to look at the police behind her. "Thank you, officers. Please keep me updated on whatever you may find." The doors behind them shut, and Jude went and sank down in his office chair.

"Father? What's going on?" Lucy didn't have to fake confusion; her father hated the police, and couldn't afford the law poking around his affairs. Her father lifted the arm off his eyes and folded his hands on his desk.

"My dear, I'm sorry to tell you this, but that delinquent Salamander has gone missing from Hargeon Penitentiary. I've been in contact with the warden, and she assures me that she has no idea how he could have escaped. I know you must be frightened, but don't worry. I'm doing everything in my power to find him."

Lucy only stood there. How could she be so stupid? She had walked Natsu out of the prison not five hours ago. But her father took her silence for fear. He got up and walked up to her, putting his hands on her shoulders as if to comfort her. "My Lucky Lucy, please don't worry." Lucy almost laughed at how earnest he looked. "I may hire you a guard as we speak; I'm going down to the station in two days. Until then, I want you to stay in the house. I can't risk losing you again."

 _'Yeah, because I know all of your business now,'_ Lucy thought absently, more worried about her house arrest. She had to get to the pub tomorrow, to make sure Natsu was okay after whatever had been wrong earlier. She swallowed, deciding to test her father's faith in her. "Father, I don't think you need to worry about me going out. I've taken self-defense classes since the incident a few years ago, and I'm confident I can at least hold my own until help arrives. Don't stress about me, too, with all you've got going on." _'Just let me fade to the background, like old times.'_

Jude smiled at her gently. "My dear daughter, I will always worry about you. But I won't keep you in the house if you wish it." Lucy smiled gratefully, unsure how to process the emotions his words gave her. "Now, I have work to do, so go get some rest." He kissed her forehead, and he couldn't see Lucy's cringe. "Good night, dear." He left her to leave, walking back to his desk without a second glance.

/

Lucy was shrugging on her jean jacket the next morning when the door to her office burst open. She tugged her hair out of the top and turned around to see Jacob, who was both fuming and triumphant. He held a paper in his hand, and he was so excited that he forgot to style his hair. Lucy noted that he looked kind of cute with bedhead, then wanted to die because she thought that.

"What do you want, Jacob?" She walked past him out the door, too busy with getting to the pub to properly pay him any attention. But she heard him shuffling behind her as she walked through the hallways, almost eagerly.

"Your Salamander surfaced again. Fresh out of the slammer and he's already calling attention to himself." Lucy froze at that, turning around and snatching the paper out of Jacob's hands. It was an article from this morning, a picture of a badly beaten man lying next to an ambulance. Lucy scanned the page briefly. The title read **_ANOTHER VICTIM—HAS THE MONSTER RETURNED?_** and continued to point out that after more than a year of relative silence, the urban legend seems to have surfaced once again, and the usual garbage about the police searching for him. Lucy struggled to look indifferent, as she knew Jacob was analyzing her every breath, and crumpled up the article into her jacket pocket.

"So what, Jacob? From what I remember about that guy this is no surprise." She turned back around and continued walking, and was proud to hear a sputter of indignation.

"What do you mean 'so what'? You were obsessed with this guy a year ago and now you don't care? That's not how it works!" He sounded so outraged that Lucy wanted to laugh. Jacob had absolutely no faith in her because he thought she was just a ditzy blonde with no business skills. He thought she was throwing away her father's legacy. Which was true, but Lucy had to act like he was a supremacist jerk who doubted her because she was a girl.

It was hard, leading a double life.

"Yes, Jacob, when I was seventeen and rebellious I was fond of him. But now I'm almost twenty trying to learn how to head my father's company, so I have more pressing things on my mind. Like trying to change people's minds about my competency." She shot him a pointed look, and he had the decency to look ashamed. "Now I really have to go. I'll see you later in my office when you undoubtedly try to undermine me—"

"Okay, I get it." Lucy froze at the emotion in his voice. He seemed almost sincere, and she turned around. "It's just, I've been bred for this my whole life, and you just wake up one day and decide you want to do it, too. It's kind of infuriating, you know?" Lucy blinked at him; she hadn't thought of that, at all. He wasn't looking at her. "So, I'm sorry, but I hope you can at least understand."

Lucy took a deep breath, and turned fully around. She ran through all the possibilities of what a friendship with Jacob would mean. He wouldn't help her in her overthrow, that's for sure. But she could learn more information with his trust. She searched his blue eyes for any deceit, anything at all she distrusted. But she found nothing. So she extended her hand.

"I do understand, Jacob. And I'm sorry that my ambition seemed like a whim to you. But…partners?" He looked down at her hand, then smiled. Not in trust, or even happily. But it was goodnatured, and Lucy would take it.

"Partners, Lucy."


	14. Chapter 14

Lucy plopped into the chair across Capricorn apologetically. "Sorry I'm late," she rushed out. "But the good news is that Jacob is kinda maybe starting to trust me."

Capricorn smiled at her over his mug. "That's great, Miss Lucy. Have you learned anything more about your Salamander or his Keeper?"

Lucy puffed out her cheeks. "Yeah, but it's good and bad. I met with the Keeper yesterday afternoon, and got to ask him a few questions. My dad apparently needs Don's network, but I don't know what for. It must be important, though, because he seemed desperate when he would ask me to go over there. As for the Salamander, I'm sure you read the paper this morning." She clenched her teeth; why would Natsu go and beat someone that bad after he just got out?

"Ah, yes." Capricorn nodded sagely. "Don't worry about that. Don just wanted to let everyone know that his pet was back. Did you give him any information at all?" He sounded worried about this particular question.

Lucy smiled proudly. "Yes, but it wasn't true. He wanted to know how I learned so much about him, and I told him that it was from a secret client log my father had left lying around. So no harm done."

Capricorn smiled, relieved. "That's good news; your father doesn't have the kind of practicality to keep records, so that threw off the Keeper for now. But please try to stay away from him. If he speaks with you, I need to know immediately. I'm glad you told me this; we can prepare for any backlash." Lucy blew out a breath. "Is there anything else you need to tell me, Miss Lucy? I have an appointment with Libra to discuss her side of things."

Lucy shook her head, but then remembered something her father said. "Oh! My father is going to assign me another guard." Lucy was going out on a limb now, but she figured the odds were in her favor with what she knew so far. "Do you maybe know anyone that wouldn't…? "

Capricorn smiled humorously. "Restrict your freedom? Yes, I believe I may know someone in the Hargeon police force. I'll have him talk to your father if it comes to that. Though I will warn you, he's quite…friendly." Lucy blinked, wondering what on Earth that meant. Capricorn chuckled at her expression and stood.

"Thank you, Miss Lucy. I'll see you soon." He patted her on the head kindly and walked away, out the door. Lucy smiled, rubbing the spot where he'd touched her. _'Is that what a father is like?'_ she wondered.

/

"Don, get me a Sprite. Put it on his tab." Lucy rapped the bar top loudly, drawing the barkeep's attention and pointing to the lovestruck drunk next to her. He was back to his dumpy façade, but Lucy caught the glitter in his eyes now, scanning the pub every so often. He smiled thinly and waddled over to get her Sprite. After he slid it to her, she popped the can top and maneuvered her way to the most taboo part of the whole business: the residence hall.

She knocked lightly on the last door on the right, and a minute later she heard the muffled "come in." She crashed on the beanbag right next to the door and looked up at Natsu, who was playing with the lighter from yesterday on the bed. The quiet _shink_ of the flame was comforting in the silence, but Lucy quickly had enough.

"Natsu, what the hell?" He looked over at her, startled. She dug the crumpled article out of her jacket and threw it at him. She saw him read it over, his eyes looking more and more troubled. She slurped her Sprite while he read, and could hardly hide the shit-eating grin she was hiding with her can. She had thought about being mad at him the whole walk here, but she didn't have enough patience or reason to be angry. Not with all she had going on.

He looked over at her, most of his worry disappearing at her expression. He smirked, discarding the article and leaping up off the bed. "What, Luce? Never seen what a champion can do?" He crept over to the beanbag, and Lucy had just enough time to put her drink down before he pounced on her, her limbs spasming as he tickled her. She shrieked at him to stop, but his laughter drowned out her pleas for mercy.

After an eternity, they both lay breathless on the beanbag with Lucy on top of Natsu. She sagged against him, wiggling to get comfy enough to lie down. She put her head down on his collarbone and felt his hands wind into her hair and begin a braid.

"Hey," she murmured. He hummed in acknowledgment. "What was it like? In there." He didn't tense up like she expected him to, or dodge the question. He stayed quiet, though, as if mulling over his words.

"It was awful." Lucy's breath jumped, but he didn't notice. "That warden lady—"

"Libra," Lucy supplied. He laughed.

"Weird name. But yeah, she took an interest in me as soon as I was in there. I beat down all of her guards with my hands behind my back on the way to my first cell. Then the guy in my cell recognized my name and tried to cream me. Didn't end well for him, though." He paused. "Or me."

Lucy shuddered. "Did they…?" She couldn't bring herself to finish the question, but he knew what she meant. He hummed again.

"They tried, at first, with those black sticks and other physical stuff. But it didn't really work with me, so they did something else." Lucy looked up at him questioningly. He smiled sadly. "They would bring me news of you whenever I acted up. They knew someone in your dad's whatever, and they fed the warden information. That helped get me under control pretty fast."

Lucy tried to disguise her hurt. He didn't want to hear anything about her at all? She had missed him constantly. Her hurt must not have been as hidden as she would've liked, though, because Natsu panicked "Not because I didn't want to hear about you! Well, I mean, I didn't, but it hurt too much."

Lucy looked up at him again, confused. He was blushing, which was cute. "They would tell me things like how you were working closely with your father, or going to the pub only to leave like an hour later. Their favorite thing to tell me was how you were always walking around with that Cobeson bastard." His face darkened, and Lucy knew he was mad. She curled into him a little bit more. "The things they told me, brought me back. Separated me from the Salamander. You're the only one to keep that separation in mind anymore.

"Anyway, after they had that all figured out, the warden would call me to her office every few days. I didn't like her all that much, but she was a hell of a smart woman. She figured out what my name meant to those guys pretty quick and used it against them. It was essentially the same deal I have with Don: keep whoever in line and I don't have a problem."

He didn't say anything else, so they just laid in the dark in silence. Lucy tried to squash down the pity welling up within her; it did no one any good. But still, he had gone through all of that while she was busy being defiant. If she had only accepted her role earlier, she might have met Capricorn sooner, might have been able to get him out sooner. _'What if, what if, what if,'_ swirled around her head.

Finally she gave up, closing her eyes and focusing only on how he was here now. And she wasn't going to give him up again.


	15. Chapter 15

Lucy woke up to a loud banging. Her eyelids fluttered open drearily, wishing whatever that noise was would stop. She blinked her eyes to focus her vision, and saw Natsu's neck. His arms were secured around her butt to keep her in the beanbag, and he was passed out asleep above her, snoring. She giggled before slowly getting up to go to the door, where the knocking was coming from.

She opened it to see Don, looking both afraid and confused. _'He must've thought I left earlier,'_ Lucy concluded. "Don, what?" she asked. His eyes were flitting behind her to scan the room, not looking downward where Natsu actually was.

"Great, girlie, you can get him up. There's another cop raid, I'm checking the rooms right now. His is the last one. You need to go." Lucy groaned loudly. Of course there would be a check, the Salamander rumors started again.

"Don't act surprised, Don. You're the one that wanted to show him off again." His face soured at her accusation, but he didn't deny it. A groan sounded from behind her; Natsu was awake. "I've got him, don't worry."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, girlie. Keep him safe." He scurried off to where Lucy could see masses of people fleeing. She sighed and turned back inside to see Natsu standing up. It seemed he already knew what was happening.

"Do you want to just take me home? Kill two birds with one stone?"

He shrugged. "Sure, but I don't know what birds have to do with it." Lucy giggled; it was easy to forget that he didn't have the same exposure she did. How to break a man's arm in two? He's got it. A simple turn of phrase? He's lost.

They ran down the hallway and out the side entrance only Don's fighters knew about. Natsu guided her through the weaving alley ways easily, with Lucy watching behind them. It was quiet as they crept around, the setting sun casting strange shadows on the buildings.

Lucy caught the shape of a man on one of the buildings and stopped Natsu. She shushed him with a hand over his mouth and peeked around the corner of the building. It was a tall blond, looking around purposefully. Her heart sank; it was Jacob. _'He must have called the cops to flush us out…did he know I was here?'_ Mind racing, she thought back to this afternoon. He had looked so sincere…was he faking it? _'Of course he was, he would never trust me.'_ Lucy burned with shame, but it did her no good right now. She had to come up with a plan.

After a long stretch of silence, it came to her. Jacob's meddling could work in her favor, but she needed Jacob to see her.

With Natsu.

She turned back to Natsu, who looked ready to fight. His fingers were flexing and popping. Signaling for him to still be quiet, she took her hand off his mouth. "It's Jacob, he called the police." Natsu went to leap around her right there, but she kept a hand on his chest. "No, this is good. I have a plan. And you might get to hit him."

He smiled and listened as she told him what to do. He didn't seem too happy about it, but he let her jump into his arms easy enough. They backed up, and he started running and rounding the corner.

"Jacob!" Lucy yelled after a second. He spun around, and his face lit up like Christmas. He thought he'd caught her. _'Good.'_ Natsu skidded to a stop a few yards away. Lucy hopped down and put a good distance between her and Natsu, trying her best to look guilty. Like she'd been caught.

"Jacob, I know how this must look but—"

"I knew it. I knew you had no interest in anything but that two-bit street thug—"

"No, Jacob, that's not it. I was there because—"

"Because you're trying to betray your father! What is this, payback for your childhood?" Lucy flinched back. Did he know…? His laugh was manic; he had it all figured out. She pushed aside her fear; she needed him to go back to being wrong about everything.

"No, Jacob, I was there because I was working your—Natsu?" Natsu had started walking forward, which was not totally a part of Lucy's plan. He stopped right in front of Jacob, who looked pretty brave considering what Natsu did to him the last time they had been that close together.

"Hello, Salamander." Jacob's voice was taunting. "Did that man's blood feel good on your knuckles last night? Or were you even sober enough to remember it?"

Natsu jolted, and Lucy snapped. "Jacob! What are you—?"

Jacob was sent flying backwards, a sick crack echoing from Natsu's fists. Lucy blew out a breath and ran over. He was coughing up blood into the dirt and trying maintain his cool composure. Natsu stood fuming above them, and Lucy put a hand on his foot in a weak attempt to calm him down. She helped Jacob to his feet and stood facing Natsu. She had told him that he couldn't walk her home, it had to be believable. But it didn't make it any easier.

Jacob was still blubbering about her betrayal, though, and she couldn't have that going home. She racked her brain for anything to convince him that she hadn't been here just to see Natsu, but she couldn't think of anything. He was convinced she would never leave Natsu—

Lucy flinched at her own idea. It would break Natsu, if she went through with it. He'd told her she was the only thing that kept him anchored, kept him _him,_ but Jacob…He needed to believe her. This was the only way.

She started dragging him forward, tears already pricking her eyes. She couldn't look at Natsu, not when she said it. She couldn't bear to see his face. He moved out of her way, and Lucy grunted as she continued moving. She swallowed the tears building up in her throat and made herself speak.

"Thanks a lot, Salamander." She didn't turn, and swallowed her sob when Natsu made a strangled noise behind her. She felt a tear slide down her cheek. _'I'm sorry, Natsu. I'm so sorry.'_

Jacob stopped his mumbling.


	16. Chapter 16

Lucy kicked the door to her father's office open. A woman stood next to her father's desk, the both of them seeming to be looking at some document. Well, had been. Now they were both looking up startled as Lucy struggled to drag Jacob into the office.

He slid off her shoulder, and she watched him as he fell as if he was in slow motion. She looked back up at the adults, who still hadn't moved. "Um, help?" Lucy asked. They looked even more startled that she had spoken to them, but the woman took a look at Jacob on the ground and walked over purposefully, exclaiming "Jacob!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. Her father stood a good distance away from the drama, and Lucy walked over to tell him what was about to happen when Jacob woke up. It was best for her to be ahead in this case.

"Father, I have something to tell you—"

"Lucy, are you okay?" He sounded serious, so Lucy paused long enough to nod.

"Yes, I'm fine, but listen. Jacob has gravely misunderstood a situation I'm in, and it's partly my fault, but—"

"She's a traitor, Mr. Heartfilia!" Jacob rocketed up from the floor, eyes crazed. He didn't seem to be fully awake. Lucy watched her father's eyebrows draw in confusion. Lucy sighed in exasperation; and the game begins.

"How do you mean, son? Lucy isn't a trait—"

"She was with that damned Salamander!" Jacob pointed an accusatory finger at Lucy, who put a hand to her eyes to quell an oncoming headache. She was praying her father would believe her lie, lest everything she and Capricorn had done for months would be ruined.

Jude turned to Lucy slowly, his eyes warring between betrayal, hurt, disbelief, and anger. His mouth moved, but nothing came out. But Lucy knew better than to speak first. "Lucy, is this true?"

Lucy blew out a breath, like she had to explain a child's ramblings. Which she did. "The traitor part, no, Father. But he did see me with—" Lucy choked on the words, remembering the choked, hurt sound Natsu had made when she'd said it. "—Him, in a very compromising situation. But if you would give me a chance—"

"You went running back to that boy as soon as he was out? After all I've done?" Jude roared, and Lucy took a step back. And she'd almost thought she'd never feel threatened by him again. She swallowed her fear, though, and met his furious gaze coolly.

"Father, if you would just listen I would explain how what I did was for the—"

"I have video footage! I was recording it the whole time!" Lucy's heart plunged. Sure enough, Jacob was drunkenly waving around a small camera, a strap dangling it from its back. The woman, whom Lucy had forgotten all about, took it calmly and went to plug it in to her father's computer. Lucy's heart was pounding: her whole future depended on when Jacob had started recording.

Jude turned to walk to his desk. "Your chance to explain yourself depends on this tape, my Lucky Lucy."

Stomping down her nerves, Lucy straightened and followed him calmly. "Then I hope this tape isn't long; I'd like to explain myself then continue my work." She brushed past him, praying that Jacob's camera could back her words.

By the grace of God, the tape was started when he had been in that alley, right around the time Lucy had spotted him. Natsu ran by with Lucy in his arms, Lucy screamed for Jacob, they stopped and talked. Lucy was glad she put space between her and Natsu; it looked like she wanted nothing to do with him.

Then he'd teased Natsu, and when Natsu sent him flying the camera got moved. _'Where even was this thing?'_ Lucy wondered, the angle giving her no cues. It looked like it was facing behind Jacob, though, from what she could tell. The conversation went on, then you could tell that Lucy had taken Jacob on her side to pull him home. She started dragging him forward, and Natsu's face came into view.

 _'No, please, don't make me—'_ The word "Salamander" floated out of the computer's speakers, and Lucy watched as Natsu's face _broke_. His whole body flinched back, his mouth opened and that strangled gasp came out. She saw him take a step back, his arm reaching out for her. Then, his face blanked and he vanished completely. He'd run away.

As everyone else watched through to where Lucy walked through the manor's doors, she thought back to Natsu's face. She remembered how peaceful he'd looked that afternoon, the feeling of his chest rising and falling underneath her as it rumbled with his voice. His fingers in her hair, feeling so comfortable that she fell asleep. She'd never seen someone break like that. _'I have to go back, tonight, to apologize—'_

"Lucy." She looked up, startled out of her self-loathing. Her father was looking at her pityingly, but she knew it wasn't for what she was thinking. "I should apologize for my assumptions, I should have trusted you more."

"Yes, you should have, but it's like you said, Father: I will always be thought less of as a woman. You prepared me for this." She could hardly keep the bite out of her voice. "But, as for why I was with him, Jacob called the police on the pub while I was there. Everyone fled through doors, but it had been such a long time since I'd been there that I'd forgotten where to go. The next thing I know I was being carried through the streets and I saw Jacob."

Jude nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, that makes sense. I see now—"

"But why were you there in the first place, Ms. Heartfilia?" The mystery woman's severe voice cut into her father's sentence, and Lucy's jaw clenched. She knew it wouldn't be that easy, but she'd wished her father had asked her. Lucy met her angry stare, wishing that her black eyes belonged to someone else.

"I was there working on the account that Jacob has gotten absolutely nowhere on," Lucy answered, surprised when this woman looked offended at her observation. She opened her mouth quickly and took a step forward, but Lucy's father interjected before she could speak.

"Now, now, Alyssa, Lucy meant no offense, I'm sure." Jude gave Lucy a pointed look, but her mind was spinning. _"Alyssa"_ ; this was Alyssa Cobeson, Jacob's mother and her father's snake of a partner. Capricorn had a whole binder on her, and Natsu said that whenever she met with Don, he'd had to get involved with the guard Alyssa had brought. Lucy had only heard her on the phone calls she intercepted.

And here she was, right in front of her.

Lucy realized that she was supposed to say something. An apology? Yes. "I'm sorry, that came out blunt. But my father gave Jacob that file months ago and it still wasn't secured, so I figured I would drop by and see what the hold up was."

Her father's eyes looked incredibly hopeful, while Alyssa remained angry and baffled looking. "How did it go?" Jude asked, eyes practically shining. Lucy noted this as odd, and saved it to ask him later.

Jacob groaned on the ground, drawing everyone's attention. Well, everyone's but Alyssa's. Lucy changed the topic. "Can I fill you in later? I think he needs some serious help; from what I remember he packs quite a punch—"

"Alyssa, surely you can take him upstairs. I'm sure you want to make certain he's okay." The two had a small stare-off before Alyssa answered with a soft "of course" and helped walk her son outside. Father and daughter waited in silence before Jude hurried them over to a corner of the office.

Lucy had alarm bells ringing all over her head. Something was wrong. "Lucy, honey, what did Don say? Did he yield? Is he going to give me access to his contacts?" Her father sounded desperate, needy. Lucy didn't like the look in his eyes.

"Father? I didn't get to talk to him before Jacob called the cops. But…" She said to his crestfallen look. "Why do you need one of his contacts? You and Mrs. Cobeson have plenty of—"

"No! Lucy, that's the problem. They're _our_ contacts now." Jude Heartfilia put his head in his hands. "I need to be free of her Lucy. Before she brings everything crumbling down."


	17. Chapter 17

Capricorn answered the phone as monotone as ever, despite it being midnight. "Miss Lucy? What's the matter?"

Lucy huffed as she ran through the back alleys of the pub. She was lost, again. "I found out why my father needs Don so bad. It has nothing to do with industry domination." Had she passed that door before? She stopped running, taking a minute to catch her breath and look around.

"Miss Lucy, whatever do you mean? That's been his and Alyssa's goal for—"

"Exactly, Capricorn." That alley looked the most familiar. She took off at a much slower pace. "His and Alyssa's. I just had like an hour long conversation with my dad, and apparently Alyssa's been running the show for a while now. She's got control over both companies, and my dad needs out. But he can't do that with the risk of Alyssa exposing what they've been doing for the past ten years, so he's hoping that Don can give him something good enough to keep her quiet."

Capricorn hummed thoughtfully on the other end. "That's most interesting, Miss Lucy. That clears up a lot of his actions, honestly. His ambitions were lofty, but where he's at is a whole new level." Lucy didn't respond, as she had started running when she heard the cheers of entertained drunkards. "Is that all he said?"

Lucy huffed and slowed down enough to talk. "That's—the gist of it," she got out, her breath coming out in short gasps. She was glad she was wearing flats. "He basically just explained to me the surface level of what's going on, because he has no idea I know what you've told me." Capricorn hummed again.

"Well, okay, Miss Lucy. I'll be seeing you—"

"Wait, Capricorn, there's one more thing." Lucy looked around the pub's lot quickly. Natsu was normally outside waiting for her, but he had no idea she was out here. She'd have to protect herself until she made it inside. "Jacob saw me with Natsu earlier, he called a raid on the pub. He has video footage of us, but I had a plan and I don't think my father believes him. But what are the odds of Alyssa blindly believing her son?"

Capricorn was very quiet, and Lucy's heart pounded. _'Please say she won't,'_ Lucy prayed.

"She isn't the blindly believing type, fortunately. Put yourself and Jude in that situation; would he believe you despite the evidence?"

Lucy thought for a minute; her father had always believed in her, but only based upon his own beliefs and faith in her. But if she had concrete proof, would he still believe her?

"I don't think he would, but I'm going to be careful anyway. I don't trust her."

She could practically hear Capricorn's small smile. "I think that's smart, Miss Lucy. I'll see you soon."

Lucy nodded, smiling too. "Okay, Capricorn. Thanks." She ended the phone call and went to tackle the biggest problem on her plate.

/

Lucy sometimes grew tired of how loud and packed Don's place was. There was always the same stench of beer, blood, and perfume; always the same ear-shattering buzz in the air. She never walked through the crowd untouched. And in the mood she was in, it was honestly the last place she wanted to be.

But she had to talk to Natsu. It had only been a few hours, but she couldn't let him think she meant it. She shouldn't have even said it, as it did no good for convincing Jacob of her innocence. Tears stung her eyes as she remembered his face on the computer screen, shocked and betrayed. And she said it for _nothing_.

She hiccuped over a sob, and quickly maneuvered through the crowd toward a wall. She let the tears go down her face for a minute, hoping letting it go would help her get over it sooner. There was no point in crying over it now, she just had to fix it. But it didn't stop her heart from feeling like it would crack, or his face replaying through her mind like a broken record.

She felt a presence next to her, and she turned her head to see an older, very drunk man eyeing her up and down unabashed. "Hey, beautiful," he slurred. Lucy flinched away from his hand reaching for her stomach, disgusted. She wiped away the tears on her face and went to tell him off, but he kept talking.

"You look pretty sad there, want me to make it better?" His hand swiped lower, and Lucy shrieked in surprise. He missed and tried again, and Lucy scrambled backwards on to the table. He lurched forward again, a creepy grin on his face now, but then suddenly he was on the floor. Lucy looked up from his crumpled body to see none other than Natsu, looking down at the old drunk with a disgusted look on his face. He looked back up at her after a second, and Lucy caught him staring at the tears dried on her face.

She sniffed and crawled off the table, crossing her arms to hide how uncomfortable she felt. "Thanks," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes. He didn't move, and Lucy looked up at him. He was staring at her, eyes flicking around like he was looking for something. She shifted, slightly embarrassed. "Natsu—?"

He moved forward so fast Lucy almost screamed again. But his arms pulled her forward into his chest, squeezing the life out of her. Lucy immediately moved her arms around his hips, feeling fresh tears start up. "Natsu, I'm so sorry—"

"'S fine, Luce," he mumbled, his arms tightening. "I get it, you did what you had to do. 'Didn't like it, but it's okay." Lucy hiccuped; she didn't deserve his kindness, but she was going to be selfish enough to keep it. He pulled back a little bit and looked down at her. "How did the bastard take the punch?"

Lucy laughed lightly, and he brushed a few tears off of her cheeks. "I heard you broke his collarbone." His grin was wicked, and Lucy laughed and buried her face in his chest again. His laugh rumbled through it, and Lucy let the ball of worry she was carrying in her chest dissolve. _'Thank God,'_ Lucy thought. If he hadn't…She didn't even want to think about what she'd do without him again. The last year had been enough.

But a thought occurred to her, and she looked up with a cheeky grin on her face. "So…How many poor drunks did you beat up before I got here?" The smile slipped off his face, and he looked up to the ceiling like he hadn't heard her. She giggled and poked him in the side, and he flinched back from her abuse.

The bell rang from behind Natsu, and Lucy groaned. "Are you going up now?" she asked, but it was a waste of breath. He gave her a look, like "Duh," and took off his T-shirt. Lucy snatched it from his grip before he could throw it to the side. He gave her a serious look.

"Luce, you can't keep this one. It's like my last shirt." Lucy maintained eye contact with him as she slipped it on over her tank top, and he rolled his eyes and groaned. They walked toward their table together, and he pointed his finger at her. "I mean it, Luce, I'm gonna get that one back." Lucy scoffed at his serious tone; they both knew he would be laying on the table top shirtless for the rest of the night.

He walked away pouting, and Lucy smiled to herself. The fight begun, and as she watched the dancing bodies in the ring, she caught a glimmer from Natsu's hand. She squinted to focus, and, sure enough, there it was again. _'What is that?'_ she wondered. Why would he have something shiny on him during a—?

A huge arc of flame curled in front of Natsu, and the crowd roared. Natsu flew into the air over it, dispelling it with his arms and crashing into his screaming opponent. The bell rang, and Lucy reeled. Did Natsu do that? Just create flames in the middle of the ring? Since when did he do that?

All these questions piled up in her head, and when he plopped down next to her without a word all she could say was "What the hell was that?"

He looked startled at her question, then his face cleared. "Oh, that? Just a trick I picked up a while back." He wagged the lighter he'd shown her, the little salamander reflecting the dim light. He didn't look her in the eye.

"Natsu," Lucy said, and he deflated. He shoved it back in his pocket and flicked his gaze back to the bar.

"Don's orders. I need to show off what I've 'learned' this last year, for a few disbelieving friends of his. Don't worry, it'll die down in a few weeks. It's fun to spook them, though." At Lucy's confused look, he threw his head to the side. "Look around, there're suits everywhere tonight. Sober as kids, too, which is a shame. Don's got the top shelf down for 'em." Lucy ignored the fact that that meant Natsu had a buzz and looked around. Sure enough, there were a few men in suits staring at them discreetly. Lucy rolled her eyes. Of course Don would show off his prize.

Natsu suddenly rocketed out of his chair, and Lucy turned to see Don standing next to their table. _'Speak of the devil,'_ Lucy thought. "Ms. Heartfilia, good to see you." He looked nervously behind her. "Would you mind—"

Lucy figured he'd seen what she just saw. "Don, perfect. I need to talk to you." Lucy hopped up off the table, smiling at his startled expression. "Come on, Natsu, I need your help, too." She led both men forward through the crowd, hoping she looked in control.

Because she had just seen Alyssa Cobeson walk through the door.


	18. Chapter 18

Lucy all but ran down the posh hallway to Don's office. Don looked less frightened now that they were away from the pub's population, but he seemed on edge. He must have seen Alyssa, too.

When they got to the door, Lucy put a hand on Natsu's chest to stop him from coming in. "I need you to keep her out here. At least until I'm done with Don." Natsu gave her a wary look.

"Luce, be careful." Lucy smiled and patted his cheek. Then she reached into his pocket, snatched the lighter, and ducked inside before Natsu could take it back. She saw his eyes light up in panic, but she hoped his forgiveness would extend to her stealing it. But if Don wanted him to use it, he knew what it could do. What she could do with it. If she could figure out how to use it.

She heard Natsu bang on the door, but he didn't open the door. Alyssa must have found them. She knew he could handle her, though, and turned to deal with her own problem. It was time to end this. "Don, I'm here for some answers. You and my father have been skirting each other like damned children for two years, and it's ridiculous. You're grown men." Don looked shocked at how she was speaking to him. _'Take Natsu away, and look what's left,'_ Lucy thought idly, amused.

"Ms. Heartfilia, I don't have a clue what you're—"

"Give me a name that can help me with my father's problem. Or any information you may be _keeping_ ," she sneered, proud when he flinched. His eyes were looking everywhere but her, panicked and flighty. She sighed; would she even need to show him the lighter behind her back?

"Don, I swear—"

"You know what I never liked about you, girl?" Don said out of the blue. He still looked panicky, but he was looking her in the eye. "You act like you know what you're doing. You think you're strong and confident—"

Lucy had blanched at first, but now she was cutting him off with a bitter laugh. "Like I know what I'm doing? Are you kidding?" She laughed again. "Two years ago I walked in here, I had no idea why I was even here. Then the cops showed up and I got dragged away by a stranger with blood on his hands, and now he's pretty much the only reason I keep getting up in the morning. But as soon as I meet him, and things start going well, shit hits the fan and my father wraps me up in a business scheme. Then it turns out that stranger is a legendary illegal fighter who works with a crime boss that my father desperately needs to contact to escape a shady business contract!" Lucy was out of breath, and figured she might sound a little crazy. "So forgive me if I think your analysis is a little off; I haven't know what was happening since I was seventeen."

Lucy shook her head and ignored Don's blank face. "Now give me a name before I make you wish you had." She locked eyes with him, and he swallowed obviously. He inched toward his desk, but just as Lucy felt relieved he stopped. He shook his head, then started laughing hysterically. It was a little dramatic in Lucy's opinion, but he kept laughing for a good minute.

"Whoo, I'm sorry girlie. It's just, I almost did it. I almost gave you a whole damn file." Then his smile fell away, and the sharp look was back in his eye. "But then I remembered that the Heartfilia heiress can't do shit to me."

Lucy cocked an eyebrow and pulled the lighter out from behind her, and Don became nervous again. "Oh, really?" Lucy flicked the lid up, the little nozzle visible. While she talked, she scanned the device and tried to figure out how it worked. Seeing as to how she'd only barely seen it used five minutes ago, the odds were not in her favor. "Well, while the helpless heiress may not be able to do all that much," Lucy's finger caught on a lever, and a spark lit into a flame, "your Salamander's girl might be able to do quite a bit of damage."

Don eyed the flame fearfully. "You don't know how to use that," he said, voice trembling slightly under the false bravado.

Lucy cocked her head. "What do you think we do behind closed doors, Don? Not braid each other's hair, that's for sure," Lucy said, despite that being just about all they did in Natsu's room. "He taught me how to defend myself a long time ago, maybe knowing you'd become a problem."

Don stood still, and Lucy prayed he wouldn't call her bluff. Because she still had no idea how she'd lit it in the first place. Finally, he shuffled over to his desk and pulled out a ring of keys. He opened a drawer in front of him and pulled out a thick file. He opened it and read through a few pages before slamming it shut and putting back.

"I can't give up this contact, his name's too big for me to just drop it. But," he said when Lucy opened her mouth. "I will call it in as an anonymous tip to her office. I'll get her out of your hair. Deal, kid?"

Lucy closed her mouth; it wasn't a bad deal. But she couldn't know he would follow through. "Fine, but if you don't follow through, I'll leave." Don looked confused at that threat.

"I'm going to do it, but you need to work on your threats. How would you leaving do anything to me? It's ideal, honestly."

Lucy shut the cap of the lighter, hoping that the flame would go out. "Really? No one would mind if I just left, didn't say a word about where I was going or when I'd be back?" Don froze as he caught what she meant. Natsu would go absolutely off the walls; Don wouldn't be able to get him under control enough for business to go on. Everything would crumble at his feet.

He nodded worriedly. "Gotcha, kiddo. I'll make the call tonight. Now go do damage control somewhere else." Lucy nodded, and walked back to the door. As her hand was on the knob, Don spoke up again. "Oh, and girlie, you're pretty good at negotiations. Better than your old man, honestly. If you need some help later along, drop me a line."

Lucy smiled to herself and walked into the hallway.


	19. Chapter 19

Lucy had never felt more powerful in her whole life. Everything was going her way right now; Natsu wasn't mad at her, Don was doing all of the dirty work for her. Now all she had to do was make it back home so she could freak out about how well everything was going. She felt like a boss.

Around the corner Alyssa Cobeson and Natsu in the fiercest stare-off she'd ever seen. Neither of them looked all that threatening, but Lucy saw that Natsu was coiled up like a spring, ready to go at one wrong move by Alyssa; who, for her part, did not look too concerned that the most dangerous man in Hargeon was glaring at her.

Lucy leaned on the wall next to Natsu, who didn't move an inch. "Hello… Alyssa." Lucy hit send on her text before pocketing her phone and looking up. Alyssa looked offended at Lucy's entrance. "While we wait, let's play a little 20 Questions." Natsu finally moved from his spot to behind her. He slid the scrunchy off her wrist and stuck his fingers in her hair, and Lucy rolled her eyes fondly. Of course he would do something this silly in the middle of this tense moment.

Alyssa noticed this. "Is he…braiding your hair?"

"Trying to, yes. But I meant that I would be asking you some questions." Alyssa bristled at Lucy's attitude. Honestly, Lucy was a little shocked at her behavior, too, but she was rolling with it. She didn't get this confident very often.

Lucy contemplated what she should ask this woman; the woman who had apparently been ruining her life from behind closed doors for the past ten years. It was like she was employed by the universe to make Lucy's life a living hell. First she grows up determined to be alone, then her mother dies, then suddenly this business tycoon shows up right after just to…

Lucy's train of thought flew off the rails. _'That can't be a coincidence,'_ her mind whispered. She tried to ignore it, but she kept thinking without her consent. Layla dies, leaving husband and daughter bereaved. Then suddenly, it just so happens that a bloodsucking woman with an agenda comes to conveniently dominate the Heartfilia business.

Praying she was wrong, she asked her first question. "How did you come to work with my father?" Alyssa scrunched up her eyebrows at the question.

"You think you have me completely at your mercy, and you want to know _that_?" she sneered. But she shrugged and answered, which was all Lucy really wanted. "I started working with him around the summer of—"

"No, Mrs. Cobeson. How did you get to that point?" Lucy tried to keep her voice under control, but Natsu tugged on her hair questioningly. She must not be doing as well as she wanted.

"Ah. I see." The woman had an air of understanding about her now. "You've figured me out, have you? Yes, I did go to your father not soon after your mother died. I'd been eyeing his assets for years, but he never wanted to cooperate; he still thought he could be successful and a family man. But, well, you know how that turned out the most, right? He was all over the papers about his rather… interesting relationship with his daughter. She was always showing up to school with these bruises—"

"Shut up," Lucy said, a little too quickly. She'd put it behind her, as had everyone else in the world. But Natsu's hands completely stilled in her hair, and Lucy refused to look at him. "That's a low blow, Alyssa."

Alyssa Cobeson laughed humorlessly. "It's all in the job description, honey. And I really wish you would call me by my proper title, it's respectful."

"If you were worth my respect you'd be hearing it."

Her cool composure cracked slightly, but she played it off well enough. "You've got a sharp tongue; I don't blame Jude."

The wall splintered behind her, and Lucy turned to see Natsu's hand bleeding from punching a hole through the wall. He was breathing heavily, and Lucy saw now that he was angry. When he looked up, she saw that he was angry at _her._

"Uh, Na—"

"What the fuck, Lucy." She flinched back a little at the pure rage in his voice. "He…You… You never _told me—_ "

"What would you have done?" Natsu froze at that. "It was years ago. He only stopped after she came in, I'm assuming. Right?" Lucy looked back at Alyssa, who smiled secretively. "You must have gotten him to agree to the contract to stop the media from digging. Because my dad needs an heir more than anything else. If I was taken—"

"His fortune would go to my son, and he refused to concede on that point, despite the fact that Jacob has more training in business than most graduate students. He's actually helped me and your father handle things for years, since he was thirteen. But Jude still kept you on a pedestal. But as soon as I tell him that you were here with that boy right there, you'll be out of the picture."

Lucy laughed under her breath. "Can't wait for that, really. But the one thing I don't understand is what your end goal is, Alyssa."

Alyssa sighed in a very motherly way, almost like she had told Lucy the same thing thousands of times before. "I want what I've always wanted, and what I'm about to get when I go talk to that bartender in that office. Total industry domination and monopoly."

"Over illegally concentrated alcohol?" Lucy asked, hiding a smile.

"Yes, you stupid brat. I've secured the exports in practically every port in Hargeon; the Keeper's Pub is the last establishment in the entire city that isn't under my jurisdiction." Lucy realized that that was what the faded sign out front must say. _'Huh, so this place actually has a name.'_ "Soon, though, every purchase in the black market will be mine, and I'll be living comfortably for the rest of my life. So move out of my way."

Lucy couldn't keep it in anymore. She busted out laughing, so hard she doubled over. Alyssa's face was priceless, too, which made her laugh even harder. The stress, the pressure, all of it came out as she sniggered. Finally, she straightened, wiping a tear from her bottom lid. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Did you get all of that, Capricorn?"

Capricorn's muffled voice echoed from her jeans pocket. "Yes, Miss Lucy. Did the Salamander ever finish that braid?"

Lucy reached a hand back, running a hand down the smooth rope. "Yup. Can you send your friend over now? Leo, was it?"

"Of course, Miss Lucy." There was a pause, and he spoke again, "His ETA is ten minutes. The task force I dispatched earlier is already surrounding the area waiting for detainment."

"Thank you, Capricorn. And the estate police?"

"They have already wrapped up, and your father is on the way to the city police department right now, along with the young Cobeson."

"What?" Alyssa asked, the horror on her face almost doubling Lucy over again. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Yeah, Luce, what's goin' on?" Natsu whispered behind her.

Lucy smiled. "Oh, nothing much. But you basically just confessed to a decade's worth of illegal activity alongside my father, and apparently your son, too. There has to be a law about that. My phone's been recording this whole time, with a very talented legal PI on the other end. My father may be able to get out of it, but you? I'm thinking no." Natsu whistled from behind her.

Alyssa looked shell-shocked, but quickly regained her composure. "And what makes you think that I won't incriminate your father? I have loads of friends—"

"Yes, but my two are far more important than your loads. Don," Lucy jabbed her thumb to the office behind her, "has the same friends you do, who all have a lot of dirt on you according to his sources. The only difference is," Lucy paused, and pointed her finger next at Natsu, who she saw bear his teeth out of the corner of his eye, "people are a lot more scared of him than they are of you."

Alyssa chortled then, and Lucy blanched. She and Capricorn had thought of everything; no string had been left out of their web. Why was Alyssa laughing? "My dear, I have my own." Lucy blanked, Alyssa's meaning going straight over her head. The woman chuckled again at her expression. "You naive thing. No one succeeds in this world we're in without someone like him." She clapped loudly, and the door at the end of the hallway flew open.

Even Natsu flinched back when the Captain stepped through the door.


	20. Chapter 20

Natsu lunged forward, and Lucy only barely caught him by the arm. This was the only time her faith in him was shaky. He was breathing hard, his fingers spasming in what Lucy knew was rage. "Natsu," she called, but his name did nothing to bring him back. He was too far gone, seeing red.

"Ah, so this is the beast Don is known for taming," Alyssa said, her voice amazed. Her eyes shone as Natsu shook Lucy's feeble grip off his bicep. He didn't go forward again, though, his eyes were fixed on the Captain. Lucy sized him up, too, and decided she didn't like their situation. He had gotten even bigger, which Lucy hadn't thought possible, and meaner looking. Her eyes drifted to his elbow, where she and Natsu had snapped it a year ago. It didn't seem to be too much of a problem for him which was disappointing, but there was what she assumed to be a permanent yellowish bruise.

His mocking smile grew as he took them in. "Hey, blondie," he leered, and Lucy shuddered. Natsu bristled in front of her, straightening and moving to block Lucy from his sight.

"You're here for me, pal, lay off my girl." Lucy blushed, looking up at Natsu to see if he was bluffing. His face was deadly serious, and he wasn't looking at her. But he didn't seem to be kidding. Lucy's heart pounded.

Alyssa crooned at the display. "How tender, it's beauty and the beast." Her face soured, lips curling like she'd eaten bad fruit. "Let's go, Salamander. I'll leave your bruised corpse for the police."

Natsu walked forward, the threat rolling right off his shoulders like water. But he snatched Lucy's hand and kept her close; he must have known she was shaking like a leaf.

As they walked by Alyssa, Lucy patted her phone and smiled prettily. "Also, Alyssa, please keep heaping on the dramatic threats, because I'm still recording." Natsu let out a breathy laugh above her when Alyssa's cool stare broke, and she looked just the tiniest bit afraid. Lucy patted herself on the back for that.

Because until they got out of this pub, it would be the little things for her.

/

As they came back out to the floor, the pub had already been cleared out. The lights flickered blue and red as the sirens outside made their rounds. A mug of beer was shattered by the Captain's heavy footsteps, the glass crunching reminding Lucy like the sound of broken bones.

She shuddered.

Natsu wandered over to the bar and climbed onto the bar top. He searched around a cabinet before pulling out a tall glass bottle full of amber liquid. A flame was the only thing printed on the whole bottle. Natsu flicked open the cap and turned the bottle upside down, taking large gulps of whatever was inside. After the tenth swallow he put the bottle back and wiped his mouth off, eyes intensely focused on the Captain, who looked just as unfazed as he did when he'd arrived.

Natsu stumbled past her, but Lucy grabbed him one more time. He looked at her, panicked, but Lucy shook her head. "Don't worry, I won't try to talk you back down. But here." She slipped her hand into his pocket, dropping the lighter and pulling her hand back. She stepped back to let him go, but he grabbed her hand.

"Lucy," he grumbled. "Hide. I don't want you to…" He trailed off, but she knew what he meant. _"I don't want you to see me like this."_

 _'Silly boy,'_ Lucy thought. _'You can't scare me off at this point.'_ But she nodded. He reached out his hand to her face, but changed his mind last minute and ran up into the ring. Lucy sighed and clambered up and over the bar to hide behind it. She moved the glasses on the shelves as quietly as she could to the side to look through the hole in the bar at the ring. Natsu had kicked it through during one of his first few fights, according to Don, and he had shown it to her one time when she'd asked him why he was hiding.

She heard Alyssa's voice, high and reedy over the sound of the two growling men. "Oh, no preening yourselves and bashing the other's ego? Unexpected, but all right." Lucy caught both fighters tense at her jab. As she prattled on, Lucy realized that Natsu might come off his high if she kept going. He was now drunk and waiting, and with a start Lucy realized that must be what Alyssa wanted.

 _'I don't think so.'_ Lucy moved into a crouch and scanned the floor for the bell. As soon as that sound went off, Natsu would pounce in the state he was in. She huffed in frustration; that was her one shortcoming in her time here: she had never actually pinpointed where the announcer stayed during the fights. Yes, she'd seen him, but she didn't think he was real in times like this.

Giving up, Lucy whipped out her phone. She turned the volume down all the way and started listening to different bell tones. If it was going to work, it was going to be right. Alyssa still droned on in the background, and Lucy idly wondered how she could keep talking for so long. Did she breathe? What was she even talking about?

Finally, she found the perfect one. She turned her phone up to full volume and returned to her position by the hole in the bar. Alyssa was still talking, standing in the middle of the ring, and Lucy covered her mouth to keep from laughing. This was going to be _hilarious_. She held her phone up above her, speaker up, and pressed play.

The clang sounded from her phone, and Natsu exploded. He sprung forward so fast he was a blur. Alyssa Cobeson was curled into a ball, screaming, while Natsu and the Captain went at each other. As she watched, she understood why Natsu had wanted her to hide. He had far surpassed the Salamander of a year ago; she could hardly see him as he fought. It seemed the Captain could hardly keep up. He was keeping his one arm close to his chest, and Lucy figured that it must still be vulnerable. But this handicapped him, though it didn't seem to matter all that much. For every swipe of his arm, Natsu got in a good three hits. He seemed to be going after his elbow, which was why the Captain was hunching in on himself more and more as the fight went on. It was getting harder and harder to protect it.

Lucy was so captivated by the fight that she didn't notice a very important fact until it was too late. A hand descended from the bar and grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her up. Lucy screamed at the pain and opened her eyes to see Alyssa Cobeson's fist flying straight at her face. More pain blossomed across her cheek and she almost screamed again, calling out his name. But she caught herself, just in time.

Lucy let herself become dead weight, dropping to the floor and out of Alyssa's grip. She rolled to the other end of the bar and slid over the top, reveling in Alyssa's surprised anger. She let her eyes go to the ring quickly, and shook her head at Natsu, who was staring at Alyssa murderously. He had to focus on the big problem here; a glance at her watch showed that Leo was still seven minutes away, by Capricorn's estimate.

Lucy wiped the bloody spit off her lip and stretched her arms over her head, leaning into the stretch and enjoying how it made Alyssa twitch. She had known that it might come to this. That Natsu might have to choose between saving his own skin or hers, in a high stakes moment just like this. So she made the decision for him, as soon as he was arrested. She would not be a weak link in his legacy anymore. So she had trained with Don, and a few of his fighters that had lost to Natsu before. She had learned how he worked, how he fought, and trained to complement where he lacked. Luckily, he didn't lack in very much. But in those rare times when there was more than one opponent, he tended to tackle the biggest one first, letting the other one fade into the background. So Lucy trained to handle the smaller ones, whatever that may mean.

Which got her here. "You know, Alyssa, I never got a chance to tell you something, in the hallway." Lucy rolled her shoulders and started walking forward, squeezing her knuckles together to pop them. Alyssa scrambled backward, but the opportunity for information seemed to be the only thing that was keeping her close. Lucy smiled and reared back her fist, and that was when Alyssa tried to bolt. But Lucy cracked her fist forward, and cringed at the feeling of her nose shifting under her fingers. Alyssa fell like a sack of bricks, wailing and holding her nose. Lucy kicked her sharply in the ribs, then just hard enough to knock her out in the head, like Don had taught her.

She wiped her hands off and looked down at the defeated Cobeson. "I don't like you," she said. She looked up to see how Natsu was handling himself, and saw a familiar image: Natsu dangling limply from the Captain's fist by his neck.


	21. Chapter 21

Lucy's heart plummeted. This was going to end up just like last time, and all of her careful planning would go to waste.

The Captain had realized the same thing she did, and he started laughing carefully, stronger when Natsu continued to hang limp in his hands, not moving. "Ha! Where's your big talk now, Salamander? Your girl finished her fight, but you're going to lose to the same opponent again! What happened to your championship, huh? Did you lose that in prison?"

A quiet _shink_ echoed in the pub, but the hulking idiot didn't seem to hear it over the sound of his voice. _'Like employer, like employee,'_ Lucy thought to herself, backing away from the ring discreetly. She had smelt gas earlier when she was with Don, and from what she knew about gasoline as a fuel, there was about to be a big explosion. She hopped back over the bar and looked through the hole, waiting for Natsu to let go of the trigger.

"Why so silent, huh? Guess I'll finish you off now, since you've gotten boring. I have to go get that girl—"

Heat invaded through the hole when Natsu released the lighter's trigger, so intense that Lucy had to duck away from the hole and cover her face. A pained roar came from behind the bar, and Lucy realized it too late: Natsu was inside the fire's range. At the thought she scrambled up over the counter and ran to the ring, where both men lay coughing. Natsu was far away from the Captain, who was smoking and charred in the middle of a ring of black.

The Captain had been defeated.

/

Lucy knelt next to Natsu just as the door burst open. Cops swarmed into the building, yelling and holding their guns at the ready. She ignored them and helped Natsu sit up, his hair smoking from the fire. The lighter lay next to Lucy, and she pocketed it before a cop saw it. She watched the police as they poked around the bar, a small team heading down the secret hallway where Don's office was. As she watched, feeling Natsu's chest hiccuping every so often but moving steadily, she felt lightheaded. Like a big weight had been lifted, and it had been the only thing keeping her grounded. Her body gave out on her, and she collapsed onto Natsu, who fell back onto his back at her weight.

He groaned and she laughed lightly, still dizzy from relief. "Ugh, you're so heavy. Get off," he whined, and Lucy didn't have the energy to be offended. She simply lifted her hand off his shoulder a few inches before letting it fall back down, counting it as an irritated smack. He coughed again and put an arm around her waist lazily, and she felt his head roll down to look at her. She looked up and blushed. His face was soft, smiling slightly despite the blood and bruises on his face. She smiled back, true happiness flooding through her for the first time in a year.

"You okay?" he murmured under the shouts of the officers. She felt a hand wind into her hair, and she leaned into it. He smiled gently.

Lucy nodded, eyes half-closed from exhaustion. "Yeah, I'm okay…" She trailed off when his head moved toward hers, and suddenly her eyes shot open. She started to panic, but she couldn't move. Was he going to…?

But his lips only brushed her forehead, feather light, and he pulled away quick enough that it almost seemed like a dream. Her panic ebbed away to severe disappointment, but she didn't have time to dwell on it as he grinned and hauled her to her feet. Still dizzy, she ended up leaning on him for support while her vision refocused. When it did, she saw a tall, very attractive police officer standing in front of them on his phone. He had on semi-dark shades and spiky hair, and Lucy caught herself blushing when he looked up at her.

Suddenly, he whistled low and started walking toward her. "Wow, Capricorn told me to look for the blonde but he never told me she'd be this beauti—Ow!" His gooey flattery was cut off by Natsu's arm preventing him from coming any closer. They had a small stare-off, which made Lucy's blood boil just a little, before Leo smiled and took a step back. "Got it, kid. I'll back off. Don't want to be in a smoking heap like that guy over there." They all looked over at the Captain, who was being cuffed and read his rights despite his probable concussion.

Don was being escorted out of the hallways far more calmly than Lucy would have expected. He caught her looking, and gave her a sage smile. He nodded like he was answering a question, then mouthed _"Look after him."_ Lucy blinked but nodded, an unexpected lump in throat at the sight. He turned away then, his attention on the body of Alyssa Cobeson. Lucy sneaked a glance at Natsu. He was stoic, but Lucy thought she saw his eyes shine for just a minute. She looked away quickly, leaving him to whatever feelings he was having about Don's arrest.

"Okay, beautiful. You and your boyfriend here are asked for by a mutual friend," he gave Lucy a pointed look, "so I'm going to skip the whole questioning thing I'm supposed to do. Which makes me a great chief, but I don't really care. Now go before I remember all the paperwork I have to do tonight." Lucy giggled and nodded.

"Thank you, Leo." She grabbed Natsu and pulled him outside. She took a deep breath and sighed. For the first time in nineteen years, and until the end of time, it was over. She was free.


	22. Epilogue

Lucy kissed Spetto on the head quickly, shoving her phone into her purse. "Spetto, I'll be back late tonight! Just leave something in the fridge for me!" The old woman laughed at Lucy's spastic sprint out the door, but she didn't have time to worry about how rushed she looked. She was late for her meeting _again_ , and the client might actually kill her if she wasn't there soon.

For the hundredth time, Lucy thought about getting a cab or a bus to the pub, but she could never get over her pride. She wanted to figure out the layout of the streets on her own, so when the next raid happened she wouldn't have to rely on Natsu. It would probably never happen, but it was a dream of hers nonetheless.

She weaved through the crowd effortlessly, not even looking up, trusting the patrons would let her through. She was in such a rush that she bumped into someone, the collision nearly sending her to the floor. Her phone and paper dropped to the floor, and she bent to get them only for scarred hands to gather them and hand them back to her.

"Natsu," she breathed, looking up to see his black eyes looking at her warmly. He took in her flustered appearance, and Lucy realized she must look like a wreck. Looking down, she saw her top was crooked, two of the four buttons on her jeans weren't fastened, and her hair had fallen out of its ponytail to be free in all of its unbrushed glory. She whined hopelessly; her first day and she looked like she'd slept here. That was not the image she needed.

Natsu laughed at her, but shook his head and pulled into the office. "You're a train wreck," he said snidely, a laugh hiding behind his voice. Lucy glared at him and he laughed again. "Luckily for you, I am an expert at fixing train wrecks."

"Why, because you're one too?" Lucy shot back, sticking her tongue out. "At least I've never been so drunk I cleared out the whole floor."

Natsu huffed indignantly, gathering her hair to braid it while she straightened her tank in the chair. "That was only once, and you can't talk; you aren't even hungover." He paused briefly and muttered under his breath, "Even though you look like you stole a whole bottle of my fire whiskey."

Lucy spun and smacked him, her freshly braided hair swinging in an arc behind her. He laughed and jumped away, darting out the door like an imp. "And by the way, you ain't late; I told you fifteen minutes early." Ignoring the huge swell of relief she felt at that information, Lucy huffed and flung the first thing she could grab at him, but he shut the door just in time. The paperweight collided loudly and dropped to the floor.

Sighing, she got up to get it and returned to sitting in the chair. She fished the letter she'd read a hundred times out of her pocket, smoothing it out on the desk; _her_ desk. She'd found it the day after he father, the Cobesons, and Don were arrested. They were all processed now, with their sentences varying. Don was in for life, but had talked his way into one of the nicer facilities through his network.

The Cobesons were an odd case, and Lucy had been on edge about their case for days. Jacob had gotten eight years in prison, with therapy for a possible bail at four years due to his circumstances. His mother, however, had received the same fate as Don, but without the nice ending. Her contacts had fallen through in the end and she was in Hargeon's maximum security prison. Lucy believed se deserved it.

Lastly, Jude had been given twenty years for his contact and activity with the Cobesons. His circumstances around Alyssa's entrance into his life had been taken into consideration, with Lucy even testifying secretly on his behalf, but ultimately he had been judged guilty. Lucy was still a little broken up about it, but she was getting used to the house being quiet all the time now. She had met with every lawyer on her father's payroll the past week, and had sorted out all of the inheritance and property issues. She now owned half of the land and businesses in Hargeon…including Don's pub.

When she'd found the envelope on his desk, she'd been shocked to find it addressed to her. She figured she would be the last person Don would want to leave a last letter to. But its contents were the most shocking part of the whole ordeal. In the envelope had been the deed to the pub, a birth certificate, a small handwritten letter, and a ring of keys. In the letter, he explained that he was leaving everything he had to her; his will would attest to it if he died in prison. The birth certificate had belonged to Natsu, who now kept it stashed away in his room safely. The keys unlocked an infinite number of safes, cabinets, and drawers across the building, including the files on every contact of Don's.

She read the last five words on the letter. _"You are now the Keeper."_ The power in those words never failed to give her a high. No last name looming above her, defining who she was or who she belonged to. No previous assumptions by being the heiress, or the girl people whispered about. It was total freedom and control over her life. What she'd always wanted.

A knock echoed on the door, and she crumpled the letter back up into her pocket. She blew a stray strand of hair out of her face and put on a straight face. She folded her hands on the desk and yelled out, "Come in."

 **End. Thank you guys so much for sticking through this story with me!**


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